Impossible
by TechnoRanma
Summary: Kai has always loved Tyson, but he knows that it's impossible for Tyson to ever love him. TyKa [complete]
1. Love

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters! I'm making no money off whatever I'm writing here.

Author's Notes: First BeyBlade fic here, give it a chance, it's kinda of an experiment. I haven't see VForce or G Revolution yet, so it's a bit AU. The pairing is Tyson/Kai. It is Kai's POV right now. 

**Impossible**

I remember when I first knew I loved Tyson.

It was years ago in Moscow, Russia at the world tournament. The ice that Tala's beyblade had created was gone, and there was Tyson, victorious, his Dragoon blade still spinning. His eyes lit up, and it finally hit me that he had won. He had done the impossible and become the world champion.

It was in that moment that I knew what it was I felt. That feeling, the very second my heart realized what it was that had been plaguing me ever since that fateful rescue on the ice, Tyson had looked over at us from the beystadium and I was helpless. I smiled, and just as the ice had melted, something inside of me did as well. He had done it. Ninety-nine percent of the stats went against him, and he pulled through with that last percent every time.

Before Tyson, I did not believe that anything was impossible. All I had known back then was that with my Dranzer blade, I was invincible, and the outcome of any and all bey battles would eventually have me as the winner. That was, until he beat me. As much as I didn't want to admit it, him defeating my Dranzer, a mere rookie, had struck a chord within me. After that, he managed to worm his way into my mind and break my focus at least once a day with his annoying comments.

It drove me insane how he constantly invaded my thoughts. It eventually got so bad; I sometimes could not see anything but him. The way he was so loud, obnoxious and lax in his training got on every single one of my nerves. He had a certain way of pushing my buttons that no one else could duplicate. With Tyson, he either brought out the best in you, or he brought out the worst in you. I always thought he was going out of his way to make me angry by acting the fool. I didn't understand why he bothered to treat me as though I were a friend. Or why he time and again preached about us being teammates. I didn't need those sorts of commitments to a bunch of wannabe bladers.

It wasn't until much later that I realized that he cared.

It took a while, of course, but Tyson- he's got a charm about him that you can't help but wonder about. I was attracted, and even though I was technically team captain, it was Tyson that shone bright like a shooting star and pulled everyone else along for the ride; a ride that I was very reluctant to take. If I had known back then how much I had missed out on, how many lost moments there were, I would have shoved away my pride and shaken Tyson's hand when he first offered it to me.

As it was, it was a long time before I realized that _I_ cared about him, too.

But that is all in the past. Presently, years later, I am the owner of my grandfather's company, Biovolt, only now the aim is to protect the sacred spirits instead of steal their power for malicious purposes. Not nearly as large and fearsome as before, Biovolt is no longer a billion dollar corporation, but it does take quite an effort to maintain. My days are filled with work, and I find myself training less and less. The weight of my shooter in my hand is no longer a familiar feeling, and the rush of my beyblade along the surface of the beystadium is but a memory…

Was this where I saw myself ten years ago? I doubt it, but no one sees themselves as they will truly be in the future. But whatever future I saw for myself, he was always going to be there, at my side, even when I didn't want him to be, because that's how Tyson was… And when I remember that, whatever I have made for myself now feels inadequate without him. Those days when I stand up to give a presentation to some business associates, I half-expect to hear Tyson wish me a hearty good luck. One time, I actually thought I heard him say it…

Even so many years later, he haunts me, and my feelings refuse to change or weaken in the least. To be honest, it scares me. If I cannot get rid of these feelings for Tyson, I fear they will stay with me for the rest of my life. I won't ever be able to be with someone else, not ever. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be bound to another, though I sometimes wish that were the case. But, I think that, if we could pick and choose who we give our hearts to, like clothing in the morning, the world would surely be a much darker place.

I know even for all of Tyson's kindness he would not be able to accept this love. How could he if I can barely accept it myself? I always tell myself it is impossible; he could never return these feelings. But you know how I feel about impossibility, and Tyson has proved on more than one occasion that he is capable of anything- but is he capable of loving me?

Sitting alone while attending a conference with other protection agencies, a woman hesitantly asks to sit down. Bored, I allow myself to engage in her small talk, and notice as she moves closer to me the longer we speak. She tells me how she has followed my work and I flirt back somewhat, like I always do with a woman who recognizes me.

But even as I look at her now, I'm not looking at the person she is, but how she compares to Tyson. Her hair is light, not dark, and her eyes are green instead of a murky blue.

The young woman hands me a paper with a phone number and address on it. But all the women I could be with will never in a thousand years measure up to him- the one I cannot.

"That's the hotel I'm staying at, and my number." She smiles nervously at me. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Kai."

"The pleasure was all mine." I reply smoothly, and she walked off, her long hair flowing behind her. Watching her go, I realize that I can't remember her name, or even what we had been talking about. When I am sure she is gone, and out of eyeshot, I carefully crumple the paper and toss it into a garbage bin.

At home, the mail is delivered to my study by one of my house aids. Usually all of the letters contain bills and the like, but this time, a stiff envelope is shifted to the top of the pile, and I stare at the return sender's name for a long while.

_Max Tate_.

After no contact for so long, why now of all times? Why would Max suddenly decide to contact me? Wasting no more time, the thin paper is torn open easily, and I pull a piece of lined paper and a thick piece of bluish card out. Flipping the coloured card around, I read the curvy embossed script once, twice and a few more times after that to understand.

The impossible message read:

_You are cordially invited to the marriage of Tyson Granger and Naomi Walker_.

The card slipped from my suddenly trembling fingers. So that was why…

****

To be continued?


	2. Hate

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters… making no money…have no money 

Author's Notes: Whoa o_O, hey thanks for the great responses to all my Beyblade fics! I didn't think I'd get anybody to read this one. _ Actually "Impossible" was supposed to be a 2-3 part POV, but because pure angst is very difficult for me to write… I'm gonna go ahead and write out the whole events… eh, a little more POV, and then the next chapter is where this drama really begins. 

**Impossible**

Is it possible to hate someone before you ever meet them? I never thought so, but that would not explain why I feel an…absolute revulsion towards this…woman. The woman who will soon be married to Tyson. Even with the wedding invitation between my fingers, I still could not fully comprehend what it was that it meant.

What _right _does she have to take him away from me? She wasn't there to witness his crushing defeats. She wasn't there to see his sweet victories. She wasn't there when he became the world champion, and his dreams came true. She _wasn't_ **there**. I was.

But then, where am _I_ now? I am not with him; I haven't seen nor spoken with him for years. I have no real claim on Tyson's heart, even if my own belongs to him. I forfeited that right the day I left.

So many years ago, after the world championship in Russia, Tyson and I no longer teammates, I found I had no excuse to stay with him. As Max went away to America to help his mother, and Ray returned to China, I knew that sooner or later, I would have to tell him why _I_ didn't leave. So I just left without a word instead.

He was always angry with me for that, I could tell. When we met up that second time after months apart, he was beybattling some kid that I knew he could beat. I told him he could do it, and he just turned around and finished the kid off. I didn't know what I had expected then, but it certainly wasn't the cold shoulder. But then, that _is_ what I deserved for disappearing.

I think a part of me always feared that he knew my feelings. Sometimes he would look at me with those beautiful eyes, eyes that would say "I know" whenever our gazes locked. It was unbearable being close to Tyson and not being able to do a thing about it. I was not ready to tell him that I loved him. That was partly why I left- a decision I am greatly starting to regret now.

What could have happened if I had stayed with him, and admitted my love? How much of my life would have changed and how much of it would be the same? I like to think that I would of been happy. And, as crazy as it sounds…I even once or twice thought about being married to him. Like this woman will be…

If fate is anything to me, it is cruel.

For too long I have kept these feelings hidden, always telling myself in certain moments when he and I happened to be alone, that it was not the right time. When you are young though, you assume you have all the time in the world. Right when we thought things had quieted down, something else would come along- a beybattle, tournament, family problems- it didn't matter. The more I waited, the worse I feared rejection. I couldn't just come out and say it. I thought too much, or maybe I did not think enough... I was never spontaneous like him…

And now it is too late. 

Max's letter informs me that it was a great challenge to finally contact me, and many other insignificant writings about how he is doing in America. So what if he was now coaching the PPA team? I did not want to know those things- what I wanted was an explanation. But all that I was told was that the... wedding... would actually take place two months from today, in Tyson's hometown. However, all the old Bladebreakers were going to be getting together earlier in order to help with the preparations and, of course, catch up.

Tyson... I wonder how much he has changed. How we all have. I am positive that he has gotten only more attractive as the years flew by. And not for the first time, I wonder what he thinks about _my_ looks... Certainly I am not too bad off- the amount of attention from my female employees tells me that. But, what is attractive to Tyson anyway? This Naomi must be beautiful in a way I cannot understand... 

I finish reading Max's letter, wishing that it had been Tyson to send one, yet glad it was not. But... of all these new developments, out of these small words on the two simple pieces of paper that threaten to make me crumble, one line stands out among the rest.

_I'm flying in on the Tuesday. Ray has told me that he'll be there a couple days later. It would be nice if you make it too, Kai. I'm sure Tyson would be thrilled if you stayed the full two months! He's missed you a lot._

He's missed you a lot.

And somehow…whatever ends up happening in these next couple of months, none of it will worry me as long as those words are true, since, I think I'm about to do something unplanned- I'm going to fly out to Tyson's hometown this Tuesday.

I have to see him, and meet the woman who I can't help but hate even though I do not know her. Just one last time I will return to Tyson and the Bladebreakers.

Because, after ten years of holding onto this love, I finally have to let it go.

I just don't know if I can.

****

Should Kai let Tyson go?? Review Please!


	3. Someone Old

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or these characters… and I'm making no money, once again… 

Author's Notes: OK! Now it finally begins. Sorry for the delay. I have now seen some Vforce!! Gawd, could the show get any more TyKai? Well, _ I guess so, since in G-revolution Kai hugs Tyson… The POV gets thrown around a bit, but I don't think it'll be too hard to figure out. Ooh yeah, and this chapter had _got_ to be dedicated to **_Kiina_**, who declared her love for me. Lol! 

**Impossible**

Tuesday morning. The airport. 

The black stretch limo that had dropped him off here had long since gone, and Kai had painstakingly made his way through to check his two pieces of luggage. However, that was done more quickly and efficiently than he had expected, and it was soon afterwards that the young man was left sitting in the terminal, waiting for the call to board the plane. 

The flight would be two hours from one part of Japan, to the airport near Tyson's town. Only two hours…But he knew that it would feel like an eternity. When comparing it with spending an hour or two with Tyson, those times always seemed to pass by in mere seconds, like the grains of sand in an hourglass falling away from him, and moving too fast to hold onto. 

_And I can't hold onto him._ Kai thought hopelessly. _He's been slipping through my fingers because for all the years I've known him, I never let him get close._ _I never let **anyone** get close._

The universe, it seems, has a funny way of making us realize our mistakes. We set out in life with a goal in mind and we work towards it- sometimes putting forth effort, sometimes even lucking out, and eventually we manage to make it. But, by the time we get to that final destination -that place we were searching for- we've had to pass so many better roads and oases along the way, that we no longer like what we've found. 

All those times when he had stopped himself from opening up to Tyson and the others, he'd been ignoring what his heart said was right for what he thought he was supposed to do. 

So maybe all those obstacles and hardships thrown into the path we are walking is the universe forcing us to take different routes and shortcuts, all the while twisting our destiny into something else entirely. 

And maybe there is someone put in the world that is meant to show us which way is the best to go… 

Kai's hand reached into his jacket breast pocket feeling the sharp edges of the wedding invitation press into the tips of his fingers. _Tyson… I should have listened to him, all of them, so much sooner._ His grip tightened on the card. _I may have wanted perfection and power, but now that I have it, it means nothing if I don't have you…_

Suddenly, Kai's thoughts were interrupted when a voice cut through the noise of the terminal. It shouted something that sounded a lot like, "KAI!" But, that couldn't be right; why would some random person be calling out to him? And in an airport of all places too? 

"Kai? Kai is that you!?" 

Kai turned to the voice and saw a young man with short brown hair, about his age, weaving through the crowd and waving madly at him. 

_Who **is** this guy?_ The owner of Biovolt narrowed his eyes in scrutiny. He did look a little familiar… 

"Hey!!" The other man had finally made it through the throng of people and stood in front of Kai's seated form, trying to catch his breath. "Wow…hi! It's Wyatt, remember? From prep school?" 

_So that's who it is_. Kai thought as he inclined his head towards his old classmate. 

"I haven't seen you in forever! Why it must have been, what- 4, 5 years?" Wyatt exclaimed. Noticing that he was still standing, Kai nodded towards a chair. 

"Oh thank you," The other man took the seat across from the former Bladebreaker. "So how are you these days, Kai?" 

Such a simple question it was; something that usually warranted a simple answer of, "Fine" in return. However this time he wasn't able to give it. Nothing was fine. Everything was wrong. And an awkward silence stretched between them. To his credit, Wyatt decided to change the subject. 

"I'm going out to New York! Where are you headed?" 

"The coast." Kai replied curtly. 

"Business or pleasure?" Wyatt smiled. 

Kai's expression turned vaguely sour. "Neither." 

"Oh! I'm sorry Kai…" The brown haired man looked extremely apologetic. "It's for a funeral?" 

"Wedding." Kai said the word emotionlessly. 

"Oh…" Wyatt sat back against his chair and studied his former classmate cautiously. There were slight bags underneath the other's eyes, and his whole body was tense as he sat on the edge of his seat. Kai's mouth was pulled into a straight line, and he seemed on the verge of getting up and leaving. In short, he looked utterly stressed out. 

Clearing his throat, Wyatt spoke up once again hoping to put his old classmate more at ease. "Don't worry Kai, marriage is a wonderful thing! There's no use in getting cold feet about it." 

"Wyatt," Kai sighed. "It's not _me_ that's getting married." 

"Ah…I-…" Wyatt floundered in embarrassment at his faux pas. "My mistake. But if you don't mind me asking- who _is_? I mean, you look a little down." 

Weighing the odds on whether or not to say something, Kai decided to just tell him to lessen the amount of chitchat being fired his way. 

"Tyson." 

He had said that _name_- the one that had come to represent someone so deeply. It was engrained within him, but it had been so long since he had spoken it to another person that it tasted foreign. But saying it aloud had also made the concept of the marriage all too real, and it unexpectedly hit Kai that this situation was not some terrible vision. It was reality, and no amount of dreaming for a different future would change that. 

"Tyson?" Wyatt looked puzzled for a few moments before his eyes widened in recognition. "Your buddy from your old team, the Bladebreakers!" The brown haired young man laughed. "I can see why you're concerned. Twenty-three _is_ a little young to be settling down." 

In the seat across from him, Wyatt then noticed a slight shift in Kai's expression. "Worried that the bride-to-be isn't good enough for your old friend?" 

"Something like that." 

"Don't worry Kai." Wyatt stood and retrieved his boarding pass from his coat pocket. He nodded his head at his old classmate and friend, "I'm sure she'll turn out to be a wonderful woman." 

_That's what I'm afraid of. _Kai thought as he closed his eyes, not watching as the other man left. 

**** 

I know I will have to forget him after this is all over. 

Tyson will probably start a family and I will still be running my company, and we won't ever have to meet again. But…even if I do manage to erase all memory of him, maybe for a week, a month, or a year at best… he has left himself upon me like a scar that will never fade. 

Miles above the ground now, flying to this ending, the flight attendants with their flirtatious glances will never get a hold of my attention. He is always there, behind their eyes, teasing me with "what if's" and giving me hope. 

Checking into my hotel room in the capital city, I empty my pockets onto the desk and the wedding invitation spills out on top of everything. It's funny to think that a piece of paper can control me like this… 

I have the hotel call a taxi for me, and I am moving out the door, into the elevator and to the lobby. 

**** 

The expensive taxicab pulled out into the streets of Japan, leaving the hotel in the distance. The car drove through Tokyo, in the midst of tall metal and glass buildings that seemed to rise higher and higher with every year. Gradually the buildings dropped in height and the taxicab stopped in front of a dojo. Tyson's dojo. 

And after paying the driver and getting out of the car, he was walking through the gate and Kai found himself unconsciously slowing his steps. The place looked almost exactly the same as it did all those years ago. There were some parts on the stone walls that had been redone and the plants had gotten much more unruly, but other than that, Tyson's family dojo was relatively untouched and unchanged. 

_Don't be fooled._ Kai told himself. _Just because it looks the same doesn't mean Tyson will be the same too. _

All during his travels he had been preparing himself for the worst scenarios. What if Tyson did not want to see him? Or what if he completely ignored him during his stay in favour of his fiancée? Thinking of the latter being true was unbearable. 

_Was this the right decision?_ It would be so easy to just fall back into his old routine of walking away from his pain. The taxi was still at the curb, he could just get back in it and leave… but if he didn't see Tyson one last time before he lost him forever, Kai was sure he would regret it for the rest of his life. 

He rang the doorbell. 

****

Sorry! It's looking hopeless... but don't worry, Tyson will be in the next chapter... Review please!


	4. A Chance

Disclaimer: Nah, I don't any of these characters… actually I own Naomi, but I don't really want too _… Making no money, as usual.

Author's Notes: Crikey! 0_0 I am so sorry to leave everyone hanging like that. I know, I know it's been almost a week since I last updated!! Sorry! Oh and, Wyatt is a character who appears briefly in VForce (and in this fic), he goes to Kai's prep school.

**Impossible**

For a little more than half of my life, I didn't know what it was like to be free or even happy. My earliest years had been lost from my memory, and when I did finally remember some of my past, I found that my childhood was not the most pleasant one around. My life was filled with training and discipline in the cold of Russia, and where I was, it was as if the winter never ended.

But, that all changed.

I always had my doubts as to whether old Mr. Dickinson knew what he was doing when he pulled the five of us together and made a world championship team that fateful day. We were all so different, and I was so resentful all the time. In looking back, I realize that despite my attitude and aversion, I had fun. I felt free… and I felt happy. Those times were the best ones in my life. When I recall this, it pains me think that I know the future will be very monotonous indeed, but…

One person will continue to burn brilliantly for me no matter what.

Tyson.

Back then, when my love was new and so pure, he shone for me like the sun. His powerful individuality blinded any of the quirks I had used to dislike about him, and other people from my view as well. I drew strength from him in my times of weakness, because Tyson always offered it, even if I said I could handle myself. And like the sun, we all revolved around him in his brightness. One by one, friends and enemies stretched out before him in a kaleidoscope of people being held together by his will alone. And we were all spinning, waiting for the time when we would be able to feel the warm touch of his spirit once more until we were mercilessly swept away by our own paths.

Like the revolutions of a Beyblade, he became the centre of my universe. Everything I did, and always do, comes back to him. But if Tyson was the sun, then I must surely be the moon… Waxing and waning through life, through idiosyncrasies, through every single day changing but still the same… and yet I have never felt fully whole…

Except when I was with him.

It was time for our paths to cross again.

The doorbell of the dojo chimed, and I heard footsteps heading for the main entrance where I stood. When it swung open, I knew that everything had changed for me a second time in life.

****

The door opened halfway and Kai could hardly believe his eyes.

_Is it really him?_ "…Tyson?" Kai asked.

He looked absolutely…amazing.

Tyson was older. Gone were the knee-high socks and vibrant clothing. Gone was the chubby figure that had been a part of his charm. This Tyson was taller, although still a few inches shorter than himself, barefoot and wearing some casual blue jeans, a simple gray t-shirt with an old and heavily faded green button-up shirt overtop. The long sleeves were rolled up, and the collar was slightly turned upward. His hair, that dark, deep blue, was still long and tied back in its usual ponytail. And that red baseball cap…it seemed as if he was perpetually wearing it. 

Kai's eyes traveled over Tyson's form. Those clothes fit him in all the right places. Suddenly feeling out of place, he wished he had changed out of his blazer and dress pants before coming here. Kai's gaze lingered on Tyson's body for a few more seconds before hastily snapping upwards to meet the other man's eyes. 

Tyson's eyebrows were furrowed in bewilderment. "Kai…?" He asked hesitantly.

_Tyson._ Kai felt his knees get weak and tears start to blur his eyes. _I haven't heard your voice in ages…_

"Yes." Kai spoke softly.

The door was thrown wide open at that point. It banged against the wall, but neither of them took notice of it. Tyson ran forward in a split second and flung his arms around Kai, squeezing the taller man tightly.

Kai gasped. Tingles of electricity raced along his body at the contact. _Ten years and he can still affect me this way… _Every fibre of his being sung with love for Tyson, and the feelings within him that had lain dormant for the long years surged forth even stronger than before. Kai brought his own arms up to hug Tyson in return. This was heaven…

"Kai!" Tyson's whole face had lit up with an odd kind of light. "I missed saying that…I missed _you_! Where have you been!? Wait, never mind- what are you doing here!! I had no idea you were coming!" Tyson released Kai from his embrace, and jerked his head up and down, eyeing Kai from head to toe.

"Oh-oh my gosh!! And _look_ at you! I almost didn't recognize you at first!!" Tyson gushed.

Kai ran a hand through his hair self-consciously. He had come straight from the hotel not even stopping to wash his face or take a nap. But being here, on Tyson's doorstep, and being welcomed with open arms was worth so much more.

"Ah what are we standing out here for!? Come in, come in!" Tyson put a hand on Kai's back and guided him inside, barely giving the taller man time to remove his shoes.

Tyson kept looking at him, and Kai felt his cheeks start to burn. "Got rid of the face paint? A suit and tie?" The midnight haired man grinned. "What happened to the rebel?"

_He fell in love._ Kai thought as he gazed steadily into Tyson's deep blue eyes.

"I still can't believe you're here!!" The other young man burst out loudly, unable to control his excitement. Kai subtly wiped at his face where some of Tyson's spit had flown.

Another pair of footsteps was suddenly heard, and a youthful blond stepped into the foyer. "Hey Tyson!" Max said. "Say it, don't spray it." Turning to the guest, Max surveyed Kai with knowing eyes. "You made it!"

The owner of Biovolt simply nodded.

"Hey…" Tyson spoke up after watching the exchange. "Max, you _knew_ Kai was coming!?"

"I asked him to when I sent out the invitations, but I didn't know if he would." Max explained. "Speaking of that…Tyson, why didn't you send those invitations out yourself?"

"Oh," Tyson's face fell a little. "Uh, well, Naomi thought it was a bad idea for me to do it."

"Well, she was probably right. You would've taken _forever_ to get it done." Max chided. "You don't keep in touch enough, Tyson."

Tyson laughed sheepishly. "Sorry!" He shifted uneasily, and Max put his hands into his pants pockets.

"So," Kai said, filling the unexpected silence. "Marriage."

"Yeah," Tyson adjusted his hat. "That ok with you, Oh Great Team Captain?" He grinned.

_No. It's not okay._ Kai shrugged then crossed his arms. "I never thought I would see the day."

"Heh, I know! I always thought Tyson would be the _last_ of us to get married!" Max crowed amusedly.

"Hey!!" The midnight haired man yelled indignantly.

_He looks happy._ Kai thought watching the animated young adult. _The years have been good to him._

Suddenly the telephone rang, and all of them turned towards the noise. Tyson jogged over to the hallway table and picked up the receiver. "Hello?…Oh hey Grandpa." Tyson listened for a few moments before his face fell. "Aw man! Grandpa, can't you take the bus home or something?"

"_What!!_" Old Mr. Granger's voice exploded from over the phone, and Tyson had to hold it away from his ear."_Tyson you get your butt in that car and pick me up right now!!_"

"But I have friends over!!" He complained.

"_Tyson!!_"

"Oh fine." The former Bladebreaker turned the phone off, walking swiftly to the hall closet he got some keys from a jacket pocket. "Guess I gotta step out for a sec."

"Okay Tyson." Max replied.

Kai felt his heart drop. _I don't want him to leave just yet…_ But nevertheless, he nodded in consent, watching as Tyson slipped some shoes on.

"Alright, I'll be back in just a few, guys!!" Tyson jingled the keys, and then fixed a mock glare on Kai. "And Kai!"

"Yes Tyson?"

Tyson's hard look dissolved into a soft smile. "Don't. Go. Anywhere."

_Wasn't planning on it…_ Kai thought, his lips quirking into a smile. He watched as Tyson hurried out the door and looked out of the window to see him run around to the back where the car was kept.

"So…" Max said, breaking Kai out of his trance. "You're staying at a hotel?"

"Yes," Kai agreed. "In the city." The two of them walked across the wooden floor, further into the house, Max leading the way into the dojo. Kai remember when, almost a decade before, he had been in town and Tyson had told him to stay over at his house. He had been reluctant to accept the offer, but Tyson had insisted. He had even brought in an extra futon to sleep in the dojo along with the former team captain. Kai hadn't got much sleep that night… he had lain awake for hours just watching Tyson, then left at the crack of dawn.

"I didn't think my letter would reach you!" Max said once they had walked into the backyard and onto the patio. The blond continued in a smug tone. "I bet you didn't believe me when I said he missed you."

"Hmph." Kai snorted, but couldn't stop the smile that fleeted across his lips in remembrance of Tyson's hug.

"We've all missed you, y'know." The coach of the PPA looked across the backyard, taking in the garden and flowers that Grandpa Granger had planted. "So, how long have you loved him, Kai?" Max asked nonchalantly.

Kai froze. The blond had sounded as if he had been asking what time it was; but instead it was like asking Kai to explain the reason of his very existence… Gathering his composure, Kai adopted a casual tone as well. "What makes you think that I feel anything like that for Tyson?"

"Oh come off it Kai!" Max exclaimed, a little bit of frustration forming in his voice. "You might be fooling yourself with that kind of talk, but you're not fooling me."

"You've got it wrong." Kai said dully. "I don't feel anything."

Max raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh really?" He asked. "That's not what your _face_ was saying when Tyson was hugging you just now."

Kai's heart constricted. Had his emotions really shown through so obviously? _No. It can't be._ "Even if I did feel something like that… _which_ I _don't_," Kai said sternly. "It… would do no good whatsoever, now."

"What do you mean?" The blond asked, a frown on his face. "You don't know that-"

"I know enough."

"Yeah, well, _what_ would you know?" Max's voice was reproving. "It's not as if you've made an effort to even _admit_ that you-"

"Don't speak like you know me Max!" Kai's voice thundered angrily throughout the silent courtyard. He was disturbed and more than a little nervous at the turn of events. The owner of Biovolt's jaw clenched, now abruptly aware of how loud their conversation had become. 

The blond coach of the PPA team sighed. "Even if you don't want to listen to what I have to say… you should know that, Tyson's marriage? It was arranged."

Kai's eyes opened wide and he stared at Max.

Max nodded. "Naomi is a nice girl, but…"

"But?"

"But, honestly…and don't tell Tyson this!" Max joked. "When I found out about the wedding, I knew I couldn't see him being happy with her…"

Kai exhaled slowly. "What does this have to do with me, Maxie?"

Max shook his head. "We all cared about you back then Kai, but Tyson always cared the most. Don't shut yourself out of this- not if there's a chance that you can still be happy."

"It's impossible."

"No it's not." Max said resolutely. "It'll _never_ be." He smiled and broke out into a chuckle. "By the way, you never answered my question- how long have you loved him?"

Kai turned, walking past Max off the patio and into the house. His answer floated back to the blond over his shoulder.

"Too long."

****

I tried to tell myself that it was completely impossible.

It would never happen. It couldn't be true, but…Max's words have affected me in a way that he will never know. It is so terrible that hope springs eternal; because…there could be no way that he was right about Tyson's past feelings concerning me. But, despite my resolve to put this love behind me and never look back, there is no escaping the fact that I was, am and will always be in love with Tyson. Forever…

And the truth is, that little possibility that he may have, at one time, felt even a fraction of what I feel for him, and could even still feel it…

That means everything in the world.

****

Ok things are looking up see? Think I should continue this fic? Please review! 


	5. Someone New

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Beyblade… 

Author's notes: Arghh! Sorry for the delay again… I have so much homework these days. Damn grade 12… Oh and also… I didn't realize Wyatt appeared in another episode _, I don't think it should of altered this story very much though. 

**Impossible**

It has never been easy for me to talk with people. Even though I own Biovolt and I regularly give presentations or meetings, I was never talking with those individuals. The faces that surrounded me day in and day out heard what I said, but they knew that it was never addressed to a single person exclusively… 

And when I realized this too, I think back a decade or more to him, always him, and try to recall the little things he said to me, and me alone. Those remarks that, even before I had these feelings, made me stop and wonder where they were coming from. Surely this kid couldn't believe _half _of what he said… But, now that I remember, I want to know what he thought when he looked at me. What did he see? A teammate? A friend? 

He called me both in those times, but… There is always something more behind our words that we wish to say. And I wonder how much Tyson has not told me. 

**** 

Sitting in the small but comfortable living room of the Granger household, the two guests and former Bladebreakers waited patiently for their host to return. It had not been long- maybe ten minutes at most, and Max knew he had to finish talking with Kai before Tyson and his grandpa came back. 

"How did you know?" Kai asked, still uncomfortable about the blond's deduction. 

"I may not have spotted a lot of things, but I'm not blind." Max grinned. "I saw you looking at him once… when he bent over to tie his shoe." 

Kai's face reddened considerably and a deep scowl formed on his forehead. "I did no such thing!" 

"Maybe, maybe not… but the point is, you weren't a complete statue Kai. Sometimes I even noticed the… other looks you gave him. They were so full of compassion." 

The owner of Biovolt looked away, training his eyes on a piece of ink artwork framed on the wall. If Max had seen it, then surely Tyson would of…Kai's eyes snapped up. "And Tyson, did he- _does_ he-?" 

The blond shook his head. "I don't know… I don't think anyone else could see it." 

Kai's hands clenched into fists. He had been wearing his heart on his sleeve and he hadn't even known… 

"Tyson told me something once-" Max started and then paused, as if he were unsure of himself. "I remember it was one of those stupid conversations we always had. Y'know, the kind where the subject went all over the place… well, somehow _love _came up, of all things, and I know it was probably a passing comment, but I'll never forget what he said back then." 

The coach of the new PPA team sat back into the living room chair. "He told me that love was like you, Kai." 

_He said that…?_ Kai thought in wonder. For Tyson to compare him to something like that… Could it be that he truly _did_ have a chance? He felt as though a weight, that he hadn't known was there, had been lifted off his chest and hope filled him with lightness. The owner of Biovolt sat forward in his seat. "Did he say anything else?" 

Max closed his eyes and held up his index finger, quoting. "Half the time you think you understand it, but for the other half you're completely lost. And even if it goes away for a while, when it comes back, it'll be stronger than before." 

Kai could only sit still, stunned. 

"Yeah…" Max smiled ruefully. "I was pretty surprised too. I think I asked him if he was high when he said it." The blond's tone became concerned. "I don't know if he still feels that way… it _has_ been a long time. And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to break up Tyson's wedding, but feelings like that wouldn't fade, right?" 

"Why are you doing this Max?" 

"I guess, because…sometimes people marry for the wrong reasons. I don't want to see that happen this time." 

Kai shook his head, running a hand through his hair in agitation. "Since when have you become an expert on relationships?" 

"My parents were separated, remember?" Max grinned at the roundabout compliment. "I've heard it all." 

Suddenly the sound of a car engine pulling into the dojo driveway jolted the two young men out of their conversation, and pretty soon the thumps of the car doors slamming shut were heard. Tyson's loud voice wafted through the courtyard and reached their ears from outside as he and his grandfather came up the walk. 

"Who's this you've got over, little dude?" 

"I _told_ you already. About twenty times!!" 

The noise of keys rattling and being shoved into the front entrance spurred Max and Kai to stand and walk to the small foyer. 

"Hey guys!! We're back!" Tyson stepped through the door, along with his old grandfather…and then Kai noticed someone else had entered too. 

It was a girl. 

The girl was holding a plastic bag with takeout food cartons stored inside. Her short black hair was cut in a plain bob style, and her dress was a simple pale pink coming just past her knees. 

If he had seen this girl in a crowd somewhere, in the busy streets of Japan, the former team captain would not of spared her a second glance. There was nothing outstanding or eye-catching about her… and yet, there was a reason that Kai could not tear his eyes away. 

Tyson had his arm around the girl's shoulder. 

And it looked as though it had been there a hundred times before… 

"Hey!! Guess who I found!" Tyson grinned and steered the girl in front of him. 

"Naomi," Max exclaimed, surprised. "Did Tyson go and pick you up?" 

The girl, Naomi, shook her head and smiled. "Actually, I was at the market and I saw Grandpa at the herbal medicine shop, so I waited with him. Oh! And we brought dinner!" The plastic bag was hefted. 

"Here, let me take that for you." The blond reached out and took the bag from Naomi. 

"Thank you… It's nice meeting you again, Max." 

"You too." He smiled. 

"You're still here Max?" Grandpa Granger asked. "Well c'mon homeboy, let's put that chow in the kitchen!!" The old timer waved a hand in the right direction, and the two departed from the room. 

The three remaining people were left in the silence of the foyer. The girl's attention turned onto the owner of Biovolt and her face held a mildly curious expression. Kai glanced away from Naomi to Tyson and noticed with some nervousness that the man with the baseball cap was staring at him intently. Kai found himself captured in that gaze. 

"Hello there…um…" Naomi started unsurely. 

Tyson slipped his arm from around her shoulders and walked closer to Kai until they were only a few centimetres apart. The longhaired young man placed a hand on the taller one's shoulder and turned to his fiancée. "Kai, this is Naomi Walker. Naomi, I'd like you to meet Kai Hiwatari." 

Naomi's dark eyes suddenly went wide with awe, and she stepped forward too then, reaching out swiftly to take Kai's right hand. "You're Kai?" She questioned earnestly. 

And Kai could not speak. 

Looking into those eyes, Kai wondered what Tyson saw in them that he had never seen in his. _What is wrong with this picture?_ Kai's thoughts whirled. The girl who now had the heart of the one he loved was holding his hand, as if he were some kind of long lost brother. There was something inside of him that made him want to rip his hand away from her. He wanted to shove her aside and walk out of the house, because she didn't _belong_ there. She couldn't love Tyson half as much as he did… 

But the world moves in mysterious ways. Of the billions of people living and breathing on the planet, emotions exist in every one of them. But feelings can die, and some lives are more valued than others. Kai looked hard into Naomi's eyes, accusations in his stare. _How can you measure our feelings? Can't you see that it's **me** that's loved him for so long… or is my love measured differently than yours because of who I am?_

There were no answers to his silent questions, and Tyson's hand was still a heavy weight on his shoulder- a reminder, of whom he would be brushing off as well if he fell back into his old routine. He couldn't do that. 

"I've… I've heard so many great things about you, Kai…" Naomi said quietly and let go of Kai's hand. She glanced at Tyson for help. Tyson released Kai as well then, to glance back. 

"I…" Kai hastily said, breaking up the look. "I'm sure I'll hear great things about you, too." He finished. 

"Oh, w-well," She floundered. "There's not much to tell!" Naomi smiled and backed away. "I'm going to go help Max and Grandpa set the table. Join us?" 

The former team captain said nothing, watching as she walked swiftly towards the kitchen. Kai moved to follow, but Tyson quickly grabbed his arm. 

"Hey… you'll stay for dinner?" The world champion asked. 

"Yeah…" 

Tyson's face burst into a grin. "Good!" He let go of Kai's arm. "I also…just wanted to say, thanks…for not snubbing Naomi…" Tyson said softly. "I guess you've changed a lot, Kai." A tender look crossed over the shorter man's face before they both began following Naomi's route into the kitchen for dinner. 

_No, Tyson. _Kai's thoughts went unspoken. **_You're_**_ the one who changed me._

**** 

A few minutes later and all the food was laid out on the small but cozy dining table. Kai ended up sitting between Max and Grandpa and directly across from Naomi. Dinner started and for a while it was _mostly_ quiet with the sounds of the group eating, but soon a conversation started up about the most interesting topic… the wedding. 

"We've already booked the priest to marry us. We thought if we had the ceremony in the dojo, it could double as a reception hall afterwards." Naomi explained as she passed a container of noodles to Grandpa. 

Tyson, in his seat beside Naomi, paused in his eating and gulped down some water. He patted his chest and set the glass back down. "Yeah! We'd save a lot of money, pluuus we don't really need a big fancy wedding anyway." 

Naomi smiled at Tyson then looked at Max and Kai. "I know it must all sound so old-fashioned…being an arranged marriage and all, but I'm really grateful that you, Tyson's friends, will be helping. It means a lot!" 

"Hey, I would've helped with _any_ kind of wedding you two had!" Max exclaimed, then his eyebrows turned up into a thoughtful look. "How was it arranged anyway?" He voice became teasing. "Heh heheh…Tyson had too much trouble popping the question??" 

Naomi suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable, and Tyson choked. "Max!!" 

"I can handle this one, little dude!!" Grandpa Granger shouted loudly, and Kai beside him had to move slightly to avoid the old man's wild gestures. 

"Y'see, my homegirl here's got a real good momma- mfffhhmrh!!!" Tyson had lunged forward and covered his grandpa's mouth with his hand, sighing and sweatdropping. 

"Uuuuh what's he's _trying_ to say," The young man with the cap began, "is that it was Naomi's mom and him who thought it was a good idea." 

"I took some amateur kendo lessons with Tyson and Grandpa a while back… so we were already pretty close, and we've gotten a lot closer… " Naomi said, and then stopped when she noticed Kai looking at her. She had sounded as if she had wanted to say more about their relationship, but for some reason she chose not to go any further. 

The two guests from abroad watched as Grandpa and Tyson settled back down, and Kai didn't miss the stern look the old man had shot his grandson. 

"You should have told me you were coming, Kai." Tyson said, his blue gaze landing on the businessman. "We could've worked it out so that you stayed here!" He snapped his fingers. "You could stay in the dojo!" 

"Tyson, the dojo is what we're redecorating…" Naomi started worriedly. "How can Kai stay there if-?" 

"That's alright," Kai cut in. "I can afford to stay at a hotel for two months." 

"Oh yeah… you're a big shot now." Max smiled. 

The conversation rolled into a different direction, and the owner of Biovolt realized just how tense it had been before. It wasn't long however, until the last of the food had been eaten, mostly by Tyson, and Grandpa retired to his room to catch some sleep. The remaining three former Bladebreakers sat around the kitchen table not really feeling like getting up. 

"It's getting late…" Max said, stretching out in his chair. 

Tyson rubbed his stomach and then adjusted his cap. Naomi came over and cleared his plate. "Yeah it is…" The young man yawned, then suddenly sat up. "Kai you must be _really_ tired! You've been travelling all day!" 

Kai was torn. He wanted to stay as long as possible with Tyson, even if it meant that his fiancée would near by… he would take anything… but he could not bring himself to lie to Tyson. He _was_ very tired. "Yeah, I should probably get a cab back to the hotel…" 

"Hey, no! Don't worry about that, Kai." Tyson stood up from the table, and Kai followed suit. "I can drive you if you want." 

_Still so generous…_Kai thought. He was still so… Tyson. This was the man he fell in love with. But, even as he was faced with the same caring attitude and smile, Kai knew that this Tyson was also different. _He's hiding something…_ why else did he tiptoe around certain subjects? Tyson and his…future wife did not want to talk about the circumstances of the marriage arrangement… he wanted to find out more, but Kai was not one to push. 

"It's alright Tyson… I can make my way there on my own." 

"You're sure?" 

At Kai's nod, the old world champion turned to his other guest. "What about you, Max?" 

"My dad's place isn't too far from here, remember? I'll walk! How about we come over here around 9am tomorrow? Ray's flight should've gotten in by then, and I told him that I'd probably be at the dojo." Max got up from his seat too. "So, tomorrow?" 

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tyson grinned 

"Tomorrow." Kai agreed, smiling gently at the longhaired man. The three former Bladebreakers didn't notice Naomi's eyes dart between Tyson and Kai, a troubled expression on her face. 

**** 

The taxi ride home was not as long as it was the first time. And maybe leaving was not as hard to do, either. For the first time in years, I am not living according to a timetable, calendar, or on the date of an important meeting. I have no idea where the future will take me. Tomorrow I will be in his home…near him… 

And yet tomorrow always seems to bring me one step closer to an ending I'm not quite sure I want to reach… 

When I get there, I'll stand beside you. Even if it's to look on as you let a ring slide onto your finger, giving yourself to another… I won't back away. Not this time, because for me… love is like _you_, Tyson. Any and all obstacles don't stand a chance since, in the end; you'll always be the winner. 

**** 

Stay tuned for Ray and if you liked this chapter, review please! 


	6. A Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of it's characters… I am not making any money on this 

Author's Notes: Not really much Kai-pining in this chapter, sorry about that, but I'm gonna try and focus on Tyson more! Ok, now uh, I didn't expect such a response to Naomi!! 0_0, I actually tried to make her non-hateable! She won't be falling in love with anyone else though… and hey **_Vialana_**- you got it in one!

**Impossible**

"Come on guys! Put your backs into it!!" Tyson yelled happily. A series of pained groans from his guests were his response, and the world champion rolled his eyes. "Oh come _on_. We were doing a lot harder stuff when we were fourteen!" 

"Tyson," Ray turned to the other man, an arm reaching up to wipe his forehead. "There's a _big_ difference in those years." 

As planned, everyone had come over dressed casually while the sun was still cool in the morning to start getting the dojo ready. Ray had arrived and they all gathered into the dojo to survey the situation. 

It hadn't _sounded_ like a lot of work at first- all they had to do was clean it and re-paint, then bring in furniture and maybe make some repairs. All in all, with the four old Bladebreakers working on it none stop, they could have luckily been done within two weeks, maybe less. But Max hadn't accounted for the other factor… Grandpa Granger had a lot of _stuff_ lying around the dojo. Old chairs and tables were lined up along the walls, and Max wondered why he hadn't noticed it all the last time he had been in there. The small adjoining rooms also needed to be cleaned out, and they were packed to the brim with dusty cardboard boxes that weighed a _little_ too much. 

"I'm starting to think I should've told everyone to come _six_ months before the wedding…" Max groaned and picked up another box. 

Ray was standing next to an especially heavy-looking box, rubbing his lower back. Kai was leaning against a stack of boxes drinking some water from a bottle he had found in the Granger's fridge. 

"Geeze." Tyson shook his head at the scattered display. 

"Ugh… when I got into Japan, I didn't expect to be put to work!" Ray joked stumbling slightly as Max heaved another heavy cardboard box into his arms. The Chinese blader laughed, "Some reunion!" 

Tyson wheeled a cart over and helped Ray place the box down on it, to be carried outside. "This is _really_ sad if _I'm_ the fittest one in the group!" Tyson mock punched Ray in the side. 

"Hey, Mr. Fitness! Come lift _this_ one if you're so strong." Max pointed to a box solidly planted on the floor. 

Tyson raised his eyebrows. "What's so great about that one?" 

The blond kicked the box. It didn't even budge. 

Sweat trickled down Ray's temple, and he eyed the box with anxiety. He came over and tapped it with the toe of his shoe. "What's in this thing? Bricks?" 

"Probably." Tyson answered. 

Ray stared at him incredulously. 

"Hey, this is a dojo!! Martial arts, remember?" The longhaired young man rubbed his hands together and bent his knees. "Ok watch the master!" Tyson gripped at the box, trying to get his fingers underneath to start lifting it. "It's...ugh...all about… come on… technique!" 

The box was lifted a few centimeters from the ground before it slipped from Tyson's grasp and fell back to the floor with a loud thud. 

"You _really_ mastered that box, Tyson." Ray said snickering. 

"Oh, zip it!!" Tyson squinted an eye evilly at the other. 

"None of us can lift it." Max pointed out. 

Tyson eyed the offensive box, stepping around it a couple times and sizing it up. The world champion beyblader grinned. "I bet Kai could lift it easily…" He looked over at the owner of Biovolt. "Right Kai?" 

The man in question looked up from placing his own burden down on the cart. He walked over and soon the four of them were standing on each side of the box. 

Kai crossed his arms. "What is this, a contest?" 

"Nah… not at all…" Tyson replied casually. "I just wanna see if I'm the only one who could even get this baby off the ground!" 

Max rolled his eyes. "In other words- it is." Shaking his head, the blond shrugged and continued. "Tyson you know you're gonna lose." 

"I dunno Max," Ray slapped a hand on the other blader's shoulder. "Tyson's looking pretty stoked!" 

"Ooooh yeeeah!" Tyson made a fist and posed. 

"Well Kai's the heavy hitter in this match Ray," Max held his hand up to his mouth grasping an imaginary microphone. "He's had a lifetime of training behind him and I'm betting he'll get that box up and outta here!" 

Kai smirked slightly, closing his eyes and taking off the black fingerless gloves he had been wearing. He tossed them aside and ignored the catcalls from Max and Ray about him 'getting serious'. 

To say he had a lifetime of training was inaccurate. His work and business had slowly taken precedence over what he had once valued most, and later dwindled into the bare amount of exercise his full schedule would allow him. And when he bladed… _Tyson… _Kai thought as his eyes opened to look into the young adult's in front of him, grown but still so young at heart… _Whenever I tried to train, I thought of you. I could never stop thinking of you or battling you one last time. I could never stop picturing your face. Now here we are… having this kiddie contest… and I never thought I'd enjoy something so crazy, but I do._

Max and Ray took deep breaths and began the count down. "THREE…TWO…ONE, PICK IT UUUU-" 

"WAAAIT!" Tyson shouted at the top of his voice waved his arms, cutting the yells off. Once he had the other three guy's attention, Tyson adjusted his cap sheepishly. "Which one of us goes first?" 

"I will." Kai spoke up. "Let's just get this over with. The box has to get moved sometime." He stated and bent down to pick up the box. 

The first thing that ran through the former team captain's head when he got a firm grasp on the box was that, it was _heavy_. Kai hadn't lifted this kind of weight in what must have been years… As it was, he had gotten it up about a foot before he felt his arms give, and he had no choice but to let the box hit the floor with a deafening bang. 

"Whooo…" Ray whistled. "Did that damage the floor?" 

"Let's hope not!" Tyson laughed a bit, kneeling down along with the others. 

"I don't think it did." Max said. 

"Why don't we just work around this one; it'll make everything go easier." Ray compromised. 

For some reason, Kai felt an odd pang at the Chinese blader's statement, but it was quickly forgotten when the four guys heard the doorbell chime. Kai, Max and Ray all looked at Tyson, who stood up and stretched. 

"I'll be back in a sec!" Tyson said and then headed out of the dojo. 

****

"Who would be coming over at this time??" Tyson grumbled to himself while stealing a quick look at the clock on the wall. It was still before noon. As he approached the front entrance, through the window the longhaired young man caught a glimpse of who was visiting. Glasses…a laptop… 

"Kenny!!" Tyson yelled as he opened the door, looking down at the bespectacled young man. "What's up? I thought you had to be up at the university right now." 

"Change of plans, the project has been pushed back another week! Which means I got some free time." The Chief explained, following Tyson into the house and into the dojo where everyone else was still working. 

Kenny had gotten taller, but it didn't really seem like much. By the time he had reached a reasonably average height, everyone else had gotten taller too, so the difference was hard to tell when he was surrounded by his old teammates. 

"Chief!" Max yelled as he spotted him, putting down a box full of coat hangers and jogging over. Ray quickly followed suit, relieved to get a break from the strenuous work. 

"Hey Chief! Long time no see, huh? Wow! You've grown or something?" Max exclaimed suddenly noticing that Kenny reached around his chin. 

Tyson grinned and held his hands up around his mouth in stage whisper to Max and Ray. "After a couple years with him not growing, I was starting to think Kenny was a robot that was being controlled by Dizzi in his laptop. See, that's why he always carries it!!" Tyson said in a hushed tone. 

"TYSON!! I heard that!" 

"Ahahah, calm down Chief!" 

Kenny shook his head and turned to Max. "It's been a while. Your team doesn't miss you?" Kenny asked referring to the blond's position as coach on the American Beyblade team. He set his laptop down on a small table. 

"Nope, those kids can use the vacation just as much as me." Max replied. 

"Hey Kenny, how'd you know Max was a coach?" Tyson asked confused. 

"Unlike _some_ people Tyson, I've been in correspondence with Max via e-mail. It's a new invention…y'know along with that little thing called the _internet_?" 

"Sheesh, Chief. There's no need to get on my case about it." 

"Yeah Chief," Ray slapped the bespectacled young man on the back. "Tyson's an 'out of sight, out of mind' type of person." The Chinese man smiled. "It's good to see you. How're things at the university?" 

"Oh just fine- the new system isn't up though, and that's a real set back. But it's not problem for me since I'm technically not getting paid, even if I'm in the apprentice program…" Kenny went on explaining what was wrong with the school's computer network, while Max and Ray tried to understand all the high tech jargon. 

Kai had joined the little grouping too, and from the looks of things, he understood what Kenny was talking about a whole lot better than the other bladers. 

Tyson had to take a step back for a moment and watch. Tyson looked at all of them, the Bladebreakers, all together after how many years apart… It was so wonderful for him to see, and he couldn't control himself from moving forward with his arms spread wide open, almost knocking Kenny over in his haste, and capturing Ray and Max together in a hug. 

"Woah!" Ray exclaimed at Tyson's sudden burst of affection. He and Max were getting the life squeezed out of them, and they both glanced at each other before hugging Tyson back. 

"It's so great to have you guys here..." The young man with the cap said, his voice muffled from his face being planted between Ray and Max's shoulders. Giving them one last squeeze, Tyson let go and then promptly turned around taking Kai by the shoulders, pulling him in for a hug too. 

The former team captain was pressed against Tyson's chest, his eyes opened wide, for the second time in under twenty-four hours, and everything else in the world seemed to stop. His heart skipped one beat…two… and a couple more after that. Kai could feel Tyson's ear and cheek against his own. _I've died, and this is heaven… _Kai thought, his eyes blurring slightly at the emotions threatening to spill forth. 

Tyson's arms were wrapped around his torso, trapping his own arms against the shorter man's body. Tyson's hands were gripping the black t-shirt he wore at his lower back causing the fabric to bunch up uncomfortably. But he didn't mind at all. 

"And you too Kai…" Tyson spoke lowly into his ear, a certain something in his voice making Kai's heart beat faster.

Taking a breath, Kai managed to get his arms free and he let them encircle Tyson's middle loosely. "Yeah well," He replied just as quietly so only Tyson could hear, abruptly conscious that they weren't alone. "I'll be around for a while longer…" 

Kenny and Ray were watching the two with bewildered expressions. 

"Kai hugs people now?" Ray's eyebrows shot up past his hairline and he turned his head to share a look with Max. 

"Kai hugs _Tyson_." Max grinned mysteriously. 

The Chief just shook his head and put his hands into the pockets of his shorts, a funny smile on his face. "Things have changed so much." 

Ray looked at Tyson and Kai, then at Max before opening his mouth to ask something, but a sudden ring cut through the dojo. The doorbell had rung. 

"The door _again_!?" Tyson complained, his arms slipping from around Kai, not noticing that Kai had yet to let go of him. 

"I'll get it Tyson, you keep at it." Kenny said already on his way. 

"Awesome, thanks Chief!" Tyson grinned and his arms were around Kai again, picking the taller man up slightly, his unruly hair sticking into the former team captain's face. 

"I think he meant the cleaning, not the hugging." Max drawled, a smug look on his face. 

_I'm not complaining…_ Kai thought hazily. To the owner of Biovolt, Max's words could have been light-years away, because he'd lost all focus once the feel of that soft hair touched his skin. His own arms wound around Tyson's waist, tighter than before. 

A clatter and the chink of glass against the wooden floor sounded, and the Bladebreakers all turned towards the source of the noise, Tyson letting Kai go, a worried expression painted on his features.

"Oh careful Naomi!" Kenny's voice was concerned as he knelt down and started picking up some of the sandwiches and juice bottles, which were thankfully not broken, from the floor. 

Naomi was staring at Kai with something unreadable on her face, until she broke eye contact sharply and stooped down, shakily placing the food back into the tote bag that had fallen. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I dropped it…" She took the sandwiches from Kenny's hands and replaced them into the bag too. "Oh… I'm so sorry!" Her voice was slightly sad. 

"Hey," Tyson had his arm around his fiancée's shoulders in an instant. "It's alright." He smiled gently at Naomi. "It didn't break." 

Naomi looked down at the glass juice bottle in her hand, then back up at her fiancé. Tyson's gorgeous eyes sparkled and the girl flushed, knowing that she had been worried over nothing… She glanced over at Kai then took Tyson's hand as he helped her up. Yes, it was nothing… 

"I just stopped by with some lunch." Naomi gave a slight smile at Kenny then looked at Tyson. "I… thought you might be hungry with all the work you've been doing." 

"You brought food? I can see why you're marrying her Tyson." Ray said, coming over to the couple, amused. 

"She brought dinner last night too." Max called out, going back to moving some old furniture. 

"Did she?" The Chinese blader smiled and took Naomi's hand, shaking it. "It's good to meet you. I'm Ray Kon." 

"I'm Naomi." 

"So what do you think!?" Tyson swept his arms out, and Ray moved to the side so they were no longer blocking Naomi's view of the whole dojo. 

It was a mess. 

"Wow um… it looks…it looks…" She struggled to find something good to say about the chaotic disarray the dojo had become. "It's getting there." She finished. 

"Oookay! Chop chop you guys!" Tyson clapped his hands loudly, "Lots of work to do!! You guys finish this up while I eat some lunch!!" 

"TYSON!!" 

"Woah!!" Tyson exclaimed as Ray forcefully pulled him back among the old furniture and boxes. 

****

Kenny and Naomi sat on the porch outside, looking on through the sliding door, which opened into the dojo. They listened to the yells and laughter inside as the reunited Bladebreakers continued to try and clear the place out, even though it was obvious they wouldn't finish today. 

"It's like he's come to life…" Naomi said watching her fiancé with the other former world champions. 

Kenny nodded from beside her. "Yeah, Tyson's always been kinda different when we all get together. It's truly amazing how after all these years we can still be the best of friends." 

"Just friends?" Naomi asked the Chief, her eyes not straying from a certain former team captain. 

Kenny noticed who she was looking at and chuckled. "We were hardly enemies!" He sweatdropped. "Well… most of the time." 

Naomi nodded slowly. "Tyson's told me a lot of things about the adventure you guys had, but I don't remember him ever telling me that Kai was…" She tried to find the right word. "Nice." 

The Chief paused in his typing on his laptop. "People change, I guess." His fingers pressed at the keys once again. "Tyson has a way of changing people." 

Naomi played with the simple engagement ring on her finger. Her voice was soft. "I know." 

**** 

After all the others had left that evening to rest up and do their own thing, Tyson had found himself wandering back into the dojo just after dinner with Naomi and his grandpa. 

The moon was a distant sliver in the sky, shining brightly through the high windows and casting wide beams of moonlight against the floor. Shadows stretched throughout the room outlining all the junk that hadn't been cleared out yet. His eyes travelled over the floor until he caught sight of what he had been looking for. 

The box. 

The longhaired young man walked over and Tyson braced his leg on top of it, leaning his arm against his thigh. 

_At the time, I didn't even think about moving it together._ Tyson thought, remember Kai's shocked look when he had dropped it. _ But it's probably what we should of done all along, even if that half-baked contest **was** pretty fun. _

A soft knocking brought him out of his thoughts, and the world champion looked over to the doorway. Naomi stood there, the starlight illuminating her. 

"Something wrong Tyson?" 

"Nah," He shook his head and stepped off of the box. "Just checking out this one that was way too heavy to move." 

"Hmm," she smiled. "Silly, why didn't you use the trolley?" She walked over to the far wall where the metal structure was lined up neatly with the cart they had used earlier that day. Wheeling it over, the metal plate rested against the floor so it was a simple matter of pushing the box onto it, then clearing it out. 

"Now why didn't _I_ think of that!" Tyson laughed then the two of them proceeded to use their legs and push the box onto the trolley. Tyson wheeled the trolley to the courtyard outside, leaving it with the other junk that was going to be placed in a storage garage in a few days. 

"That was fast." Tyson dusted off his hands on the legs of his jeans, walking with Naomi to the front door of the house. 

His fiancée slipped on her shoes, and got out her car keys. "Alright, I might be around tomorrow, but I've got to go take care of something with the dressmaker." She said. 

"All day!?" 

"Maybe…" Naomi giggled and put a hand on his cheek. "Work on the dojo, or take a break. I'll call you before I'm finished… just don't forget me!" 

"Forget you? Naomi, that'd be impossible." He smiled and kissed her cheek goodnight, watching as she left, getting into her car and driving home. 

But Tyson felt guilty at what he had said about forgetting her… 

Because earlier that day, he had.

****

Want me to continue soon? review please!


	7. Importance

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade and I'm not making any money on this story…

Author's Notes: OK, really sorry for the huge delay, but I got an equally huge load of schoolwork and some tests…*sigh*… Anyway I hope people still read this… This chapter is dedicated to Stacey! Who ahh defended this fic from someone who I guess tried to flame me. I'm still grateful for that Stacey!! Hope you guys like this chapter.

**Impossible**

I woke up when the sunlight filtered through the hotel curtains and drifted over my face. Reaching out to turn the alarm off before it sounded, I stayed in bed for a little longer than necessary. The room around me is warmly lit, and the sheets are more comfortable it seems, than the ones in my own house. Maybe it's all this seaside air rushing through the slightly open window, and the rising sun that makes everything feel so... _relaxed_- but even with those pleasant things, I know that they're only the conventional explanations of my comfort. I know the real reason. It's the same reason for all my feelings… 

The clock on the bedside table tells the time, and I slowly sit up, resting by back against the headboard. It is in times like these, that memories of you always come back to me, Tyson. When I first get up in the morning, or when I'm getting ready for the night, you always seem to be the first thing I think about, and the last before I go to sleep. 

I close my eyes and one of my favourite memories appears for me like a movie on a projector screen, replayed so many times and so very old, but I can still recall each and every detail… 

It was in this same city, your hometown, and many years ago. 

You turned around and looked at me, your face the picture of confusion, but you were so gorgeous… I was stunned. Those midnight eyes were wide, and a single strand of hair was falling into your face. Did you know how perfect you were? Maybe you did…but maybe, when you looked in the mirror all _you_ saw was a regular boy- tanned skin and a slightly round face… the magazines probably wouldn't call you irresistible… yours is a certain type of charm after all… but to me, you were. You were perfect in every way that mattered, and I was envious so often because of that, and I was in awe at the same time. You raised an eyebrow at my silence… 

And somehow, in that single moment, I forgot how to breathe… 

And I would have stopped breathing if you asked… 

And then the moment was over, because you had turned around and started talking with the others once again, and you left me more confused than _you_ had been when you first looked at me. 

Maybe… there is a world out there- one in which we both felt this way about each other. One in which I was not alone in my feelings…One in which you were not getting married to a girl who has never done wrong to you, as I have. 

Why do things happen the way they do? 

Maybe it is fate that pulled us together and wove this love inside of me, keeping me tied to you. Maybe it's fate that this story does not finish the way I want it to, and with you tied to another. I used to think I wanted that- I thought I didn't want this love. But there are certain people that we give in to… certain people we can't help but smile at a little bit differently than everyone else. I'm glad that that person for me, is you. 

I slowly pull back the covers and get up from bed, heading towards the bathroom. 

It's funny how love is just four letters strung together by an invisible thread to form a word- something that is used in and out of speech or text… but a single word would not convey just a fraction of what the feeling is. Is that why there are so many songs, poems, or stories written about love? 

It must be, but I think that out of all those queries about love, _nothing_ could ever capture and retell the feeling as wonderful and powerful as the one I feel for you. 

I'll always feel this for you. 

****

Hours later, at the Granger family dojo, the Bladebreakers had assembled in the small cluttered attic, going through the repair supplies that were already there. As it was, the pickings were pretty slim- a half empty can of paint and a few broken floorboards were all they had managed to come up with. Tyson had decided that clearing out the actual dojo could wait a bit, because, well he knew _everyone_ must be aching from all the hard work- Kenny said that Tyson had probably decided to move on because the world champion had complained of hardly being able to move when he woke up. 

Tyson had gone downstairs for something and Ray and Max had taken seats on some old wooden chairs. Kenny had sat cross-legged on the floor and Kai was, as usual, leaning against the wall. 

"So will it be a traditional Japanese style?" Ray asked curiously. 

"It's going to be an American style wedding." Kenny told him. 

"Why's that?" Ray asked. 

"It's cheaper!" Tyson called out from the bottom of the stairs. The thumps of Tyson's sneakers against the strong wooden stairs were heard, and then the husband-to-be appeared in the attic doorway. 

"If you're going for _cheaper_ you could always just wear some shorts, a t-shirt and that baseball cap instead of a tuxedo." Max joked. 

"No, no, wait, you forgot something!" Ray joined in. "He'd have to wear some knee high socks and carry his Dragoon Blade up to the alter too, for good luck of course." 

Tyson gasped in mock outrage. "Hey!! There's nothing wrong with knee high socks!!" 

"Yeah…" Kai spoke up from his place leaning against the wall. "And that's why you were the _only _one who wore them." 

Tyson turned to the owner of Biovolt. "Quiet you." He said, and then turned back to Ray and Max. "And… what's wrong with bringing Dragoon with me?" 

"Don't tell me you were actually gonna do that!! I was just joking!" Max's eyes bugged out in awe. 

"Tyson!" Kenny slapped his forehead. 

"Uhm," Ray sweatdropped and scratched his head. "Well, actually, I don't think there's anything wrong with it really." 

"Cool!!" Tyson brought his hands up and adjusted his red baseball cap. "And for your information, I _am_ wearing a tux." He groaned. "Not that I _want _to." 

"This is something I gotta see." Ray snickered. "You're 23 and you _still_ dress like a kid." 

"Aw c'mon." Tyson rolled his eyes. But it was true. The young adult was wearing some dark grey jeans and a plain white t-shirt topped off with his baseball cap. Compared to Kenny's professional vest and shirt, Max's button down shirt and slacks, Ray's neatly pressed Chinese shirt, and Kai's casual black blazer, Tyson still wore clothes more fitting for the young teen he had been ten years ago. 

"Will you _ever_ grow up?" Ray smiled. 

"Probably not." Tyson replied, sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes making a funny face. 

Max and Ray burst out laughing, and Tyson grinned while Kenny shook his head. 

"At least your style has improved." Kai stated. _Liar._ He thought to himself. _You liked the socks… they turned you on._ Not that Tyson wasn't attractive to him now. If it were possible, Kai found _anything_ Tyson wore to be appealing. Personally… he liked the fact that Tyson was still the same like this… It only proved to him that time could not dull Tyson's personality. Tyson was Tyson. Immovable, unbeatable, impossible… 

"TYSON!!!!!!!" Grandpa Granger's loud rickety voice bellowed up the stairs and the Bladebreakers jumped in surprise. 

The former world champion groaned. "YEAH????" Tyson suddenly shouted back. 

Ray held his ears. "I forgot I'd have to get used to Tyson's volume again…" The Chinese man said to Kenny. 

"I'm _still_ not used to it." The Chief stated. 

Grandpa's reply was just as loud. "TYSON, YOUR LADY'S COME TO VISIT!!" 

"Naomi?" Tyson asked perking up. 

Quiet steps approached the top of the stairs, and Naomi smiled short black hair framing her face, appearing much like Tyson had in the doorway. 

"Hi everyone!" She waved at the four young men then turned to her fiancé. Tyson smiled and leaned against the doorframe. 

"Hey, I thought you were going to the dressmakers?" Tyson asked. 

She nodded. "Yes, I just stopped by to tell you that I'll need you to pick me up at around 6:30pm from the shop, please. My mom needs the car, and the bus won't pass by for another two hours after that." Naomi explained. 

"No problem, we have to go out and get some supplies anyway. When we're done, I'll come get you with the car." Tyson grinned at her, and Naomi put her arms around his shoulders in an almost hug. 

Across the room, the small touch was no comfort to Kai. A spike of jealousy ripped through him. _Get your hands **off** him…_Kai thought irritably, and despite his need to keep his anger in check, he shot a glare at the girl. 

Naomi glanced past Tyson to the others and visibly tensed. Kai let his face carefully become neutral again, wondering if she had caught his piercing look… 

Naomi's hands quickly darted off of Tyson's shoulders and she stepped back, reaching up to adjust the strap of her purse uncomfortably. She glanced at her wristwatch. 

"Um, well…my bus into town is going to leave pretty soon. I'll see you later?" Naomi asked. 

"Yeah, of course!" Tyson nodded enthusiastically, and Naomi smiled, bowing slightly before descending the stairs once again. 

The pony-tailed blader pushed himself off of the doorframe and turned to Kenny, Max, Ray and Kai. He eyed the small pile of supplies for a moment. 

"Okay Bladebreakers!!" Tyson grinned and made a fist. "It's time to go shopping!!!" 

"Shopping?" Max asked. 

Kenny sweatdropped. "Count me out." 

"Your call Chief." Tyson said good-naturedly. 

"We'll never get all the stuff we need unless we split up." Ray said analyzing the pile of repair supplies. 

Tyson looked over at Kai. "Well, then we'll split up. Ray you and Max'll buy some of the stuff, and me and Kai can get the other half." 

Kai started slightly at that, and looked over at Tyson, their eyes meeting briefly before Max, Ray and Kenny stood up causing them to break contact. 

Max gave a thumb's up. "Gotcha!" 

"Great!! I'll make us some lists of what to buy!" Tyson pumped a fist in the air then bounded down the stairs. 

Ray shook his head bewildered. "Where does he still get that energy from?" 

Kenny smiled quirkily. "Eh, well I'm afraid that's an unsolved mystery." The Chief started down the stairs as well. "I've got a bus to catch too!" He said. 

Max and Ray followed. "Max and I can walk you to the stop then." The Chinese blader offered. 

"Might as well!" Max agreed, then turned around and gestured to the silent figure still leaning against the attic wall. "You coming downstairs too, Kai?" 

Kai slowly made his way over to the staircase and followed Max and the others downstairs. 

Max looked back at him and grinned slightly, whispering so the others wouldn't hear. "Looks like you've got a date with Tyson today, huh?" 

"Shut up." Kai rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the feeling of elation at the blond's words. _A date…?_ Kai thought. _Well…maybe…_

****

Ray, Max and Kenny had headed in a separate direction than Tyson and Kai because of the location of the bus stop, but that hadn't been a problem since the Bladebreakers were bound to meet up again while getting the repair supplies. 

Ray had noticed some differences in the owner of Biovolt that were… surprising to say the least. Kai hadn't protested against splitting up to go shopping with Tyson… and the fact that he was going _shopping_ at all was in itself something of a milestone. Ray never thought that Kai would be one to volunteer help like this, even for beyblading, and this was for a _wedding_. 

Kai had even been almost amiable with them this morning; well he _had_ been, until Naomi showed up… 

And speaking of Naomi… 

Ray looked down at the computer whiz who had just said something to Max about Tyson's fiancée. 

"Chief… about Naomi…Was she having a bad day?" The Chinese blader asked. 

The Chief shook his head. "Nope, she's like that all the time." 

"Really?" Ray's eyebrows shot up. "I don't understand it, yesterday she looked so sad, and today she left in kind of a hurry- that's a little strange isn't it? I mean, shouldn't she be happy? She's getting married in a few weeks!" The Chinese blader exclaimed. 

Kenny's eyebrows furrowed in thought, and then replied. "Naomi didn't have a lot of friends, I think. Plus, she was really quiet- you know, actually, Tyson's helped her open up." 

"Ah! Hey Chief! Here's the bus!" Max pointed to the public transit coming down the street. The bus pulled up at the stop, and the mechanical door swung open with a hiss. 

The Chief got out his bus pass and waved. "See you later guys!" 

"Bye Chief!" Ray waved. 

"Yeah laters!" Max chimed in, and they watched the bus pull off heading towards the university that Kenny worked at. 

Ray frowned slightly and Kenny's words echoed through him. He looked at Max. "Naomi sounds a lot like someone we know…" 

Max looked back with a small smile. "Yeah, strange huh?" 

"More like a coincidence." Ray replied, eyebrows raised. 

"Thought ya didn't believe in those." Max commented thoughtfully. 

"Seeing… is believing I guess." Ray said and crossed his arms loosely. 

Max nodded knowingly. "So you can see it now, huh?" 

Even though the blond hadn't said it out loud, Ray knew what he was talking about. Max had told him a long time ago about what his thoughts on Kai's feelings concerning Tyson were. The Chinese blader had been completely astounded; he hadn't noticed anything like that. But then he had begun to think about it, and the more he thought, the more he realized that maybe Max was right. Kai was in love with Tyson. And maybe it was possible that Tyson had been attracted to Kai once as well. 

This was a problem. Not only did it bring dangerous feelings into light, but also someone was bound to get hurt, that was… if Kai decided to do something… 

"What do you think Kai will do?" Ray asked, concern in his voice. 

"I don't know. Kai is almost as unpredictable as Tyson sometimes, y'know?" The blond said. 

"Yeah." Ray shook his head. What a dilemma Kai must have found himself in. Trying to push away the worry he felt for the situation, Ray changed the subject. "Okay… so now we're doing the shopping." He said. 

"How much stuff do we have to get?" Max asked. 

Ray took out the folded list and scanned it over. His eyes widened and he groaned. "Aw no! We've got a _lot_ of stuff to buy." 

"Paint, floorboards, nails…" Max read the items. "Hey I could've sworn this list was shorter before…" The blond frowned in thought. 

"Looks like we're in for a long day in the shopping district of Japan!" Ray announced, then sighed and replaced the list in his pocket. 

"Maybe we should figure out where we can find a hardware store first…" Max suggested. 

"You mean you don't know where one is?!" 

"Hey I've been in America!" 

"_I've_ been in China!" 

"Don't worry…" Max said cheerfully. "I'm sure we'll get the shopping done _easily_." 

The blond coach and the Chinese blader rounded a corner onto a busy street, and promptly gasped. There were hundreds of small shops and venues all packed together all the way down the street and it looked like it continued that way onto the next street, and the one after that too. Multitudes of people were walking up and down, buying from the vendors. 

Ray and Max looked at each other. 

"A…_very_ long day of shopping…" Max said. 

"_Easily_." Ray agreed. 

****

On another road, away from the bustling shops of the inner city, the two other members of the Bladebreakers were standing by a little park. 

"Which shops are the best places to buy these items…?" Kai wondered aloud. 

Reaching over, Tyson deftly snatched the piece of paper from Kai's fingers and crumpled it, tossing it into a nearby trashcan. He dusted his hands off on his red jacket. 

"We won't be needing _that_!" The pony-tailed blader smiled devilishly. 

Kai's face was priceless. He stared at Tyson, his mouth slightly agape before he hastily looked away and cleared his throat. "Why?" He asked. 

"I put all of the stuff that was on _our_ list, onto Max and Ray's, heh heh…" Tyson grinned evilly. "_This_ way, _they're_ gonna buy everything and _we_ won't have to do _any_ shopping!" 

"You thought of this by yourself?" Kai asked, floored by Tyson's craftiness, and also confused by it. "I'm impressed. So then, what will… we… be doing today?" He asked. 

"You haven't been in this part of Japan for a long time." Tyson stated matter-of-factly. "I figured we could take a walk around the place, y'know, to get you caught up." 

Kai ran a hand through his bangs self-consciously then shoved his hands into the pockets of his black blazer jacket. _Caught up…_ He thought agitatedly, avoiding Tyson's eyes. _Maybe like a date…_ A small blush appeared on his cheeks because he couldn't stop the thought. 

"You up for it?" Tyson asked. 

"I…Yeah." Kai said. "…Let's go." 

So they went to all the old places in Bay City, Tyson's hometown. Tyson even showed him where he had gone to elementary school, and then the high school he had attended. Up and down the streets they walked all morning, talking and remembering. Kai could not believe he and Tyson were doing this, and to think that he had been happy about just being able to have the chance to simply go to a store and buy supplies with Tyson… They fell back into the tentative friendship that had developed all those years ago during the World Championship, but somehow it seemed closer than before. 

They stopped for lunch at a small Japanese pizza shop, then Tyson insisted on buying some ice cream from a shop keep's stand. Tyson had gotten double chocolate chip. Kai had gotten strawberry. 

The hours felt like seconds, and pretty soon the sun was beginning to set as they reached the final place on Tyson's list of 'catching up'- The bridge over the river. And for some reason, Kai felt as if they had come full circle… 

****

They, whoever 'they' may be, have said that years pass by like water under the bridge. It's strange to think that we're standing on that bridge. This place that never seemed to change, no matter how much took place around it. 

You glanced at me and spoke, "Hey Kai, remember way back when we first met? It was here!" 

Yes, it was. 

Tyson…How could I forget? 

It's another one of those memories that I know by heart, because even then, I think I knew there was something about you that would someday end up being important. 

I remember how… 

You were standing there and your shadow stretched out behind you so far that it touched the edge of the concrete supports of the bridge. It was your eyes that had managed to touch _me_. Somehow you held my gaze, unlike all those underlings and cronies in my gang, you looked straight into my face. You weren't afraid of what you saw. I noticed that the sunset had turned your eyes to fire and your spirit seemed to spread out and then it rose around your form in pillars of colour. You looked like… like a human Dranzer descending down from that burning sky, that running leap, and I couldn't wait to beyblade against you. 

The sky was red, but some of it was still blue and… we were together in that sky. The sun had taken a little longer to disappear that day… 

Just like now. 

Only, now, things are so different… 

****

The two former Bladebreakers stepped off of the bridge and onto the heavily trampled dirt path on the slope of grass above the river. Tyson chatted casually with his former team captain. 

"You've got a business to go back to, right?" Tyson questioned. 

Kai nodded slightly. "And you?" 

"I dunno…" Tyson kicked a stone in his path. "I thought I'd try and get into college. Naomi and me are applying. You know, get a degree- in small business maybe." 

"Planning on running the dojo?" 

"Yeeah, it seems like the best thing to do. Too bad they don't offer Beyblading as a subject!" Tyson punched the air. "I'd be like a PHD in that by now!" 

Kai couldn't help but smirk. "For you to get a PHD in that, _I'd_ have to be the one teaching the class- no one else would pass you for sure." 

"Wha!! Hahah!" Tyson laughed, bumping his side against Kai's and briefly putting an arm around the taller man's shoulders. Kai's heart fluttered madly, and he was slightly shocked at himself. That joke. The joke had rolled off naturally- he hadn't even had to think about it. When he was with Tyson, everything was so… 

How had he lived his days without this man? How had he made it through all those years without being near to Tyson, hearing his voice and seeing that smile? His life before was just a shadow compared to what only a few days with Tyson had made it. And at that moment, to Kai, the wedding was the farthest thing from his mind- nothing else mattered. It could start raining or snowing, or _anything_ and he wouldn't be upset at all. As long as he was here with Tyson, and it was just the two of them, just two people walking along the river as the sun began to set. 

Their arms brushed against each other as they walked, sometimes drifting slightly apart but then they were side by side right again, close enough that once Tyson's hand even touched Kai's… 

Impulsively, Kai spoke, keeping his eyes trained on the dirt path. "You've changed a lot." He said, and looked up. 

"Really?" Tyson's eyes bugged out and he looked at Kai comically. 

Kai looked away and snorted in amusement. "Well… not much." 

"You," Tyson grinned and poked Kai in the shoulder before putting his hand in his jacket pocket. "You haven't changed at all." He finished. 

Kai gave him a look. "Did you forget that you told me I'd changed? It wasn't too long ago." He pointed out. 

"Oh yeah…Okay, so _maybe_ you've turned over a new leaf." Tyson relented. "But!! Think of it this way, you're just a different side of the same person." 

"So I'm still bitter and cold?" Kai asked, and folded his arms, slightly put off, but Tyson could see the slight smile on the taller man's face. 

"Kai Hiwatari can make fun of himself!? Has the world ended!!?" 

Kai frowned in spite of his resolve not to, and Tyson laughed. The two slowly melted back into comfortable silence, until it was Tyson's turn to speak up. "Back then, I knew you didn't mean to be that way." 

"Back then." Kai nodded replying, knowing what Tyson was referring to. 

The World Championships… And before that. Everyday in those first few years so alone, so far from the love he had known wasn't supposed to happen, and would never work out… he had regretted his attitude and the choices he had made. But there was nothing that he could do about it- the past could not be changed, and Kai wondered sometimes if the future was any different. And yet, here was Tyson, extraordinary Tyson, no one quite like him, saying that he understood… and that he didn't hold his past actions against him… 

The shorter man beside Kai suddenly chuckled, the sound sending a pleasant shiver through the owner of Biovolt's form. Tyson was looking around them, and down the steps leading to the level of the river with a sweet smile on his face. 

"Yeah…" The former world champion said softly, seeming to talk more to himself than to Kai. "Back then… when we first met here…" Tyson's voice suddenly regained it's vibrancy and his blue eyes gazed up into Kai's auburn ones. "Y'know, when I first saw you… you looked like some kind of tall, dark, handsome stranger coming to beat me up…!" He joked, and grinned, a dimple appearing in his cheek. 

Kai stared at the shorter man in complete disbelief. 

"Hey don't look at me like that!" Tyson complained, then another one of those smiles appeared. "You were all shadowy and shady-looking. You…" The longhaired man closed his eyes briefly, remembering, and then opened them once again. "You were in front of the sun, so that's why, I guess." 

"If you say so." Kai replied, still surprised. 

"Yeah…actually, it was kinda like you are now." Tyson pointed out. And he was right. They were walking down that same dirt path beside the river, and the sun was casting its last dying rays, brilliant reds and oranges, behind the owner of Biovolt, throwing some of his features into darkness. 

At those words, Kai's footfalls slowly came to a halt and Tyson stopped walking as well. Tyson watched curiously as Kai took a few steps around him until he was behind the former world champion, and the fading light from the sun now illuminated his form. 

Kai lifted his head and looked into Tyson's eyes. "And… what do I look like _now_?" He asked, his voice quiet. 

Tyson was studying him, and it was as if he could see right through into Kai's very being- As if he could see all the loves and hates and the emotions bottled up inside. _He knows._ The thought shot through Kai like a fire in his veins, creating waves of an indescribable feeling. _He knows what I feel for him… _But then, how could Tyson not? It was all there if Tyson wanted to find it; he could see the truth written on his face. _He has always known…_Kai thought longingly. _Tyson… what's the use in hiding this… if you can already see? I…_ A hundred unspoken ideas flooded through his mind. _Run away with me Tyson…_ Kai thought. _We could go somewhere no one would find us… It could be just us…like this, forever; you're the only person I need. _So lost in his thoughts, Kai almost missed when Tyson spoke. 

"You look like a good man…" Tyson finally answered, those eyes carefully looking into Kai's own and then he turned away and gazed at the water, sounding hesitant. "You look like…" He paused thoughtfully. "A… _best_ man actually…" 

"I…What?" The owner of Biovolt's eyes widened and he froze. 

"Well, y'see…Kai," Tyson started again, "I was kinda wondering…well, I hadn't really thought about it too much before, but for the wedding, I- that is… I'll need a best man." 

Kai's mind whirled, not able to process one thought before another. _The wedding…his marriage. And he wants me to be…Tyson no, don't ask me to…_Kai's shoulders tensed in anxiety. 

At Kai's silence Tyson's face fell slightly, but then a weak grin slide into place. "Do you not want to do it?" He asked. 

"I…" Kai's shoulders relaxed, and he felt some of the unwanted tension of the question melt away. _I can't say no…_

"Tyson…If you can't find anybody else-" 

"I don't want it to be anybody else." Tyson cut in with a small smile. 

_I **can't** say no… _Kai thought. Looking into that face, that same face that had haunted him for the better part of his life, Kai's defences crumbled. _If this is the only way I can be beside you at that alter then… I'll do it._ He thought. _If there's anything left I have to give you… then I give you this Tyson. I'm yours in any way you want…_Aloud, Kai nodded and replied softly, "Then I'll do it." 

Tyson's face lit up in a dazzling smile, and the sun setting on his features gave him such a _glow_, that Kai could only think that he had done the right thing. 

"You mean you will!?" The pony-tailed man exclaimed happily. "Kai, thank you, this means a lot to me! Just heh," Tyson brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Don't say anything _too_ bad about me in your speech!" 

"Tyson…" Kai looked at the other man, this time not trying to hide his love. "That's impossible." 

****

At a street corner, the sun had gone down completely, and it was dark as she dialled the number that she had come to know by heart. 

Inside the quiet home, the phone rang. 

It went unnoticed by Ray and Max who had gone to the dojo to pack things away, and Grandpa, who was snoring in front of the television as it played the local news station. 

Naomi set the payphone back on its receiver and collected the quarter that she had paid with. Looking at her watch once more, she sat down on the bus stop bench. 

Watching as the cars passed by, Naomi's quiet self-reassuring words were swept away in the nighttime traffic. 

"Something…very important must have come up…"

****

To be continued…review please! 


	8. Duty

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade and I'm not making any money from writing this fic… wish I was, but nah.

Author's Notes: Woah haven't updated this in a while… I'm _really_ shocked that so many people liked this fanfic so much... I never expected such a great response! I gotta apologize for this chapter – it very pretty boring. The fic will also end in a couple more chapters… I've kinda lost the spark for it since, Tyson/Kai is the **officially recognized couple** in Japan so this story really **is** impossible. 

And to **_Fyredra_** and **_Stacey_**… I appreciate you stickin' up for me! But uhm heh, me and her are ok with each other now.

**Impossible**

They were fighting. 

As unbelievable as it sounded, it couldn't be denied that the shouts coming from inside the kitchen weren't ones of joy or happiness. For the first time in what must have been ages, the Granger household didn't have the atmosphere of cheerfulness that it usually emitted. This day it was eerily calm and the two yelling voices could be heard throughout the relative silence of the dojo. 

Well, Tyson was the one doing the yelling; Naomi was as quiet as ever. 

The day before, as soon as Tyson and Kai had stepped back into the house, a couple hours after dark, Tyson had remembered that he had meant to pick Naomi up. 

So, Tyson had rushed out to the dressmaker's in the car while everyone put the purchases away and left a little awkwardly to their own places they were staying at. When Tyson got to the shop, he found out that his fiancée had left and he knew that she had taken the bus straight home. When Tyson got back to the dojo, the former world champion had immediately gotten on the phone with Naomi and tried to apologize for what must have seemed to be a hundred times. And Naomi had accepted his apology about a hundred times as well. 

And yet the subject still hadn't dropped. 

That was the reason why Max, Ray and Kai were sitting in the dojo, unable to continue the job of clearing out the old junk, and listening to the argument taking place in the Granger household's kitchen. 

"Tyson, it's okay." 

"It's _not_ okay and I can tell!" The heated response echoed through the house. 

"It is." Came the insistent reply. 

"Naomi, if you're angry at me then _tell_ me! Yell at me, hit me, kick me- do _something_! Don't just act like you're fine with everything!" 

"You had a good reason." 

"No, I _didn't_! I lost track of time with Kai and I forgot and I'm sorry - you know that - but you have to tell me that you're angry, because I know you are! You have a right to be." 

"I'm not angry Tyson. You haven't seen Kai or the others in a long time… I understand that." 

"That's not the point!" 

And the argument started again from there. 

Ray sighed and banged his head back against the dojo wall. "This looks like it's going to go on for a while. Tyson's really getting chewed out." 

"It sounds like Tyson is doing a pretty good job of chewing _himself_ out to me." Max put in. 

"That's for sure." Ray agreed. He put his hands behind his head. "I knew that they would probably have a little falling out… but nothing this big!" 

"Tyson always takes things hard… Betrayal is high on that list - whether it's by someone else, or himself." Kai said, his eyes shielded by his thick bangs. The owner of Biovolt was sitting on a large sturdy box, his legs and arms crossed, leaning back against the soft wood of the wall. 

Max and Ray stared at him, and then at each other. 

They still hadn't gotten the full story of where Tyson and Kai had been all day yesterday. Everyone had been in a hurry when the two had gotten back, so there hadn't been a chance to question the two on it, or why they didn't buy anything. 

The slamming of cupboard doors could suddenly be heard and the three of them fell silent. More clattering sounded, and the reunited Bladebreakers listened as Tyson put the dishes left over from breakfast into the sink. 

The owner of Biovolt closed his eyes and sighed slightly under his breath. Each time he had heard his name mentioned Kai felt a stab of guilt. He knew that, technically, it was not his fault – he had not been the one to forget about the girl. He hadn't done anything wrong by being with Tyson yesterday, but… even with knowing those facts, he could not seem to shake the feeling that his being here was affecting the couple in a negative way. 

And there was another fact that he overlooked. 

He did not want them to be a couple. 

He wanted Tyson to be his. 

And that was the problem… 

**** 

It's wrong. Why did this have to happen? 

The question is one that plagues me – I can never find an answer to it that I want to hear. 

It's there in the back of my mind, has been for the past few days actually… Had I not known of their engagement and that I would lose him, would I have continued my days loving him, but never acting on it? 

It is frightening to think this. 

Some say love is blind. 

Maybe this is true. 

Maybe because of my love for you, I can't see the real person there. This is what people say – but I think you, the others, and I all know how much I trust the opinions of people. The only person I've ever fully trusted is you. And yet, you don't know this… 

You don't know almost everything that's been happening with me for these years we have been apart, and I don't know almost everything that's happened to you. 

I can see differences and I can see similarities in the Tyson Granger that existed in my past, that boy that won the World Championships, and the Tyson Granger in this present, the one that is now finding it difficult to talk with his fiancée. 

Even with the changes that years can bring, both of these 'you's' are essentially the same. 

I will always remember the past version of yourself as my first crush. My first love. Like a lingering perfume your presence must have marked me with some invisible sign of ownership… why else would your name always find itself attached to mine in rumours at my boarding school? 

Usually the rumours weren't anything astounding. Mostly they held hints as to why I had quit beyblading after the World Championships. Some said I did it because I didn't have the talent anymore. Others said that it was because I thought that no one was good enough to blade against. And one rumour said that I thought the only one worthy enough to beybattle… was you. 

All rumours have their truths to them. 

**** 

The sliding wooden door opened and Tyson stepped through it, shutting it quietly behind himself. 

"Hey guys." Tyson said waving shortly, and focused on rolling up his sleeves. 

Ray and Max got up from the spots on the floor, and Kai stood from the box he had been seated on. 

Max spoke up first. "Hey Tyson, are you-" 

"Lots of stuff to do today!!" Tyson cut the blond off, still concentrating on his sleeve. "Let's get it all done real quick, okay?" The world champion lifted his head and finally looked at his old team, a half grin on his face. "I wanted to take you all to the beach this evening." 

"The beach?" Max's eyebrows angled in concern. 

"I think that's a great idea, Tyson." Ray stated. 

Tyson smiled. "Hey thanks, Ray." He reached up and adjusted his cap. "I'm gonna go phone the junk place to make sure they're sending that truck to pick this stuff up. Then we can all go out." The midnight haired young man gave them the thumbs up then headed for the living room where there was a phone. 

As soon as Tyson had left Max sighed. "I think he's trying to get away from Naomi for the day." The blond assumed. 

"I don't blame him." Ray replied. "He just had a long fight with her, he needs some time to cool down."

"I guess." Max said, still a little unsure. "I've never seen Tyson act like this though." 

"Kai…Where were you two all yesterday, anyway?" Ray questioned the silent owner of Biovolt, a concerned expression on his face. 

"Does it matter?" Kai muttered under his breath as he got up and pushed past them, going outside to the Granger's courtyard. 

**** 

"The van is on its way?… Ok, yep we've got most of it ready to store… Ten minutes? Gotcha." Tyson held the phone to his ear talking with the junk movers. 

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Naomi walk past holding some cleaning supplies, and enter the kitchen. The voice on the phone line started up again and the longhaired blader's attention was torn away. 

"I'm sorry, didn't catch that… Ok…Yeah." 

The door to the kitchen shut quietly.

****

It was maybe 6 years ago that they had met. 

She had been taking kendo lessons from his grandpa and he had been there and given her some tips too, when the old man's back had been turned. Later, after the lesson, he had talked with her, and it went on that way for every other lesson – him talking to her, and her gradually talking to him, too. 

They became friends. 

One day he walked her home from school, and another day she met his friend Kenny. From there she learned about his passion for Beyblading, and that led to him trying to teach her a how. It didn't work out too well, but it was fun all the same. 

She liked him. 

Months later, after another one of those self-defence lessons, he had shown her his room, and she saw a framed picture on the desk of five boys. One of them was him. 

She asked about the group, and he told her the most amazing stories… 

When her mom had come to pick her up, his grandpa had said they could both stay for dinner. He had bounded downstairs, and she had carefully set the photograph back down on the desk. 

And she noticed. 

There were lip marks on the glass frame - over the face of the tallest of his teammates – impressions left behind from when he had kissed that picture. 

And it looked like they had been wiped away but then a fresh set had been pressed there about a hundred times again… 

She had some of those too - on the pictures of handsome movie stars and some class photos from previous years and previous crushes. 

She had some on a picture of him. 

It was at dinner that night that her mom and his grandpa talked about an arranged marriage… how it would be a good thing… because she needed someone to take care of her, and he needed to settle down one of these days when he got too old to enter Beyblade competitions. 

He protested. They were young – They didn't feel that way about each other, he looked at her, right? 

She did not know what she felt. 

He did not want to get married. 

Maybe his grandpa knew that – maybe his grandpa saw the lip marks when he cleaned the picture frame. 

She did not know what she wanted. 

But it was not a matter of want anymore. It was a duty now – an obligation. And Tyson was nothing, if not dutiful. When she got home, she ran to her room and found her picture of him and hurriedly wiped away the lip marks. 

They never talked about that night.

**** 

"Kai, can I talk to you for a moment?" Ray asked to other young adult who was standing by the dojo's pond, watching a few leaves fall from a flowering tree. He had told Max that he was going to talk to their old team captain, leaving the blond to go wait for the moving van while he approached Kai's withdrawn form. Standing a small distance away, Ray wondered what was the best way to bring up the issue he wanted to talk about. 

"Kai-" 

"Do me a favour and get to the point, Ray." Kai said, cutting off what the Chinese blader had been going say. 

"Oh…Alright then…" Ray managed, slightly unnerved by Kai's mood. It was a great change from his comfortable attitude the last couple of days, and Ray was suddenly reminded of how Kai used to act so very long ago. Well if Kai wanted to act like that, then he wouldn't sugarcoat anything. 

"I was talking to Max about you and Tyson recently. You've got feelings for Tyson. Strong ones." Ray paused before continuing. "Kai, you _have_ to think of moving on." 

Kai scowled deeply but did not say anything. 

"He's getting married." Ray said, exasperated at the former team captain's lack of response. 

Kai turned away and gazed at the small decorative pond seeing his reflection in the water. "That doesn't change anything. Even if he's getting married, nothing's changed." 

Ray's eyebrows shot up at that. "What do you _mean_ nothing's changed? Everything will change! Don't you get it Kai? He's getting _married_, Kai – and it's not just him in this either, it's Naomi and her family, and his family too. It's all of us, we're all a part of this wedding and we're here helping out to make it _work_! What are you doing here if you don't want it to?" Ray folded his arms and his eyes bore into Kai's back. "You have a couple more weeks to do… whatever it is you came here to do. So Kai, tell me, what did you come here for?" 

The owner of Biovolt's lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes narrowed, still staring at the clear water of the pond. "I came here…to see him… and to _tell_ him… before it's over." 

Ray's mouth opened in shock. Was that really what Kai planned to do? "_Think_ about this Kai." The Chinese blader implored. "When do you think you're going to tell him? Right before they say 'I do'? Or maybe afterwards and completely mess with Tyson's feelings by giving him yours to think about!?" Ray ran a hand through his fringe in frustration. "You can't just _tell_ him this." 

Kai's shoulders stiffened visibly, Ray's words cutting deep. He straightened his back then quickly started to stride out of the courtyard. 

Momentarily stunned, Ray's eyes widened before he called out to Kai. "No, don't walk away! That's what you always do." 

Kai stopped, but Ray could see that his hands were clenched into fists. 

_I think I've been going about this the wrong way…_ Ray thought. He sighed and shook his head, trying for a different approach this time. The Chinese man looked at Kai. "You could have told him a long time ago." Ray stated simply. 

Kai's head bowed. "I know." Came the reply. 

"It's not much longer that you have, you know. The wedding isn't that far away." Ray said cautiously. 

"Yes." 

"So… what are you going to do?" Ray asked uncertainly. 

Kai continued to stare at the small pond, his answer devoid of feeling. "Nothing." 

"Hey, Ray! Kai!!" A loud voice called out, and the Chinese man turned around to see the groom-to-be running over and waving. 

"Hey Tyson." Ray answered. 

"_There_ you guys are!" Tyson exclaimed reaching them and putting a hand on the Chinese blader's shoulder. "The van's here around the other side. Max's already putting some stuff in, and we need some help!" He grinned, but it slipped away when he saw Kai standing motionless by the pond. 

Ray noticed Tyson's sudden change in demeanour. "Sure Tyson. Hey, I'll go help Max out right now. Mind if I grab a few bottles of water from the kitchen?" 

"Yeah, sure." Tyson replied, but he hadn't really heard the question. He was looking at Kai. 

Ray sighed inwardly and headed for the house. How was he going to fix this?

****

Tyson barely noticed as Ray left, his eyes only on Kai's unresponsive form. He was standing there stiffly, his back to Tyson, looking into the pond's water, and he seemed to want to be alone. But Tyson didn't leave because he was never one to leave Kai alone, _especially_ since he was probably the one to cause Kai's bad mood. They had had such a great day yesterday, and this one had started off badly. 

"Hey, best man…" Tyson smiled gently and walked over to his old team captain. He gingerly put his hand on Kai's rigid shoulder and was slightly shocked to feel Kai wilt a bit at his touch. 

The owner of Biovolt turned around and looked at Tyson, his expression unreadable to the engaged man for the first time in many years. 

"Listen…" Tyson started, letting his hand slip from Kai's shoulder. "Me and Naomi fighting wasn't your fault or anything, Kai." Tyson said, then rambled slightly trying to explain. "I mean… the wedding's still on and everything in case you were worried about that…" 

_That's it then._ Kai thought, ignoring the constricted feeling in his heart. _The wedding is still on, and he's not mine, because I was too late to do anything about these feelings. I could have told him sooner, but I didn't. I don't know if I **ever** would have… and now I know… that I never **can**._

Any more time spent with Tyson alone, was more time for a heart to break. _This **pining** that I've kept doing just… has to end._ Kai sighed and decided to try and get away. 

"Tyson, the moving van is here-" 

"The others can take care of it." Tyson replied casually, and then took a seat on a boulder by the pond. He then reached up and took Kai's hand, pulling him to sit down by the pond too. The touch sent a pleasant buzz through Kai's body and he couldn't help but sit down. Just a little more time wouldn't hurt… 

"Besides, it's a nice day to sit around a bit." Tyson spoke, his deep blue eyes looking straight into Kai's and he smiled boyishly, making him look very handsome. 

Kai swallowed painfully, knowing he'd have to stop noticing things like that. It was now his obligation to accept that Tyson was getting married, and would never be his, but… he couldn't stop the thought. _How will_ _I ever stop wanting him?_

****

She rubbed at the glass harder and the fuzzy images of the beautiful courtyard, with its vines, flowers and small trees that Grandpa had panted was slowly coming into view. 

"You were right Tyson. I am angry at you…" Naomi admitted quietly. "But not for the reason you think." The washrag was dipped into the bucket and rung so that most of the soapy water drained back into the pail. She adjusted the metal band on her finger. 

The wedding ring he had bought her didn't fit. It was slightly too big, and always slid down her ring finger so she had to wear it on the middle one. Naomi pressed the damp rag to the window once again. "You were thinking of someone else's hand when you got this…" She said, her tone pensive. 

"Tyson…" Her grip on the windowsill tightened and she closed her eyes. "You gave it to the wrong person." Her grip relaxed, as she was too tired to keep the anger too long. She shook her head and opened her eyes slowly, staring out the window to the scenery outside again. 

"You talk to me about not saying what I feel… but you don't even recognize it when you do it yourself." Naomi dipped the rag into the bucket again and repeated the cleaning on the glass more quickly this time. "We both didn't say things… and now look at us…" Naomi said to Tyson. "We're trapped." 

Finished with washing it, Naomi gave the glass one last wipe, and through the window she could clearly see Tyson sitting by the pond, very close to Kai. She tossed the rag back into the bucket and turned, heading for the laundry room to put the cleaning supplies away. 

****

The door creaked open slowly and the longhaired blader stepped fully into the kitchen, his eyes on the hallway that Naomi had just walked down. He made his way over to the recently washed window over the sink; gazing out like the girl had done only minutes ago. He saw them then – by the pond – Tyson and Kai. 

Ray had heard everything.

****

To be continued… 


	9. A Reason

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters! I'm making no money off whatever I'm writing here.

Author's Notes: This was my first Beyblade fanfic and I never expected to get this far with it or anybody to like it! (I usually can only get up to 5 chapters before I lose motivation…) Anywayz, I hope to finish this fic someday; cause in the end Tyson and Kai should always be together!!

**Impossible **

Every second I am with you is time that's running out. 

The days are getting shorter as the summer deepens, and with it comes the moment in which… I lose you. But that's wrong – I guess I've already lost you. You were never mine, and yet, I am still yours. This is the way it was, the way it is, and the way it will always be, it seems. I've finally accepted it – there's nothing I can do to change all that has happened. 

Tyson…What can I show you, that you haven't already seen? What can I say, that you'd want to hear? What can I give you…that you don't already have? Because you have my heart – now, and forever. 

Forever is a long time. 

But somehow… it's still not long enough to explain just how powerful this fire I have for you really is. Nothing can dim it; nothing can put it out, I know, because I've tried… 

Ten or more years ago, I remember when I used to stare out across the water at this same stretch of beach that we are all standing on now. I used to look out to the bay and the sea beyond it, and even further from my sight, to the ocean in its ever-flowing vastness. Sometimes I think back and wonder why I used to spend my time doing something like that… I had better things I could be doing, after all, like training and perfecting my skills at Beyblade. But still, every once in a while, before I met you, the waves and the horizon were a silent companion to me as I met with them from time to time. 

After I met you, though, I found myself staring in an entirely different direction. 

The stars. 

It was just past twilight when we walked out here – well, we walked, you ran – and now the sky is at its peak, clear and cloudless, every constellation is glowing for you to see. 

There are millions of them out tonight. Each point of light illuminates the sand and water with starlight, leaving its presence upon this place, and yet they are so far beyond our reach… like you are, to me. 

Why did you want to bring us here tonight, Tyson? I don't know, and for once I can honestly say I probably won't figure it out soon. Your heart and soul have constantly been a mystery I stood in awe of, as you always put them in the right place, even when people doubted that was so. Tyson…who has your heart? Who's soul does yours belong with? And still, even now, I hope that… if only for just once in your life… they resided within me. 

But wherever your heart leads you, whatever its true destination, I know I won't stand in its way. Because…if love is being able to let go… then I haven't loved you more than I do right now. 

And I do, love you, Tyson. 

For the rest of my life. 

* * *

"Aaah, smell that air! It's a great night." Max exclaimed, breathing in the fresh smell of the water as the group of old friends made their way across the beach. "Living in America in hectic, I miss being able to do things like this. The city never gets as peaceful as a small place like here." 

Ray nodded and smiled at the blond, stepping over a weathered stone in their path. "Yeah, can you believe things are getting much busier in my village back home?" The Chinese blader looked ahead to where Tyson was grinning and running barefoot across the sand, his shoes in his hands. _It **is** peaceful here. And I have a feeling that Tyson is trying to forget more than his and Naomi's fight._ Ray thought to himself, his eyebrows furrowing slightly in worry at the situation the Bladebreaker's had found themselves drawn into. _Just what are Tyson's feelings in all of this? _

"Don't be worried, Ray." 

Ray's eyes widened and stopped walking, looking to the younger man beside him. "Max?" 

The blond stopped as well and looked up to the taller blader with a smile. "You remember the World Championships, right? How nobody thought we could win?" 

Ray raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Yeah… I couldn't ever forget that." 

"Weeell," Max started walking forward again, and Ray followed trying to figure out what the other meant. "You know that even when it seemed impossible, Tyson always came through when it mattered." 

The longhaired blader sighed and looked to Tyson in front of them again. "You're right." He replied and Max smiled, breathing in the fresh air deeply again. _I guess I won't step in any more… it's all up to Tyson this time._ Ray thought, deciding to follow the world champ and Max's example and forget some of the troubles of the day. 

"Hey guys, isn't this awesome!!" Tyson suddenly yelled back to Ray and Max, and Kai who had been walking much farther behind them. He waved his arms wildly, jogging backwards with a wide grin on his face. "There's nobody here but u-OW!! WHOA!" Tyson shouted as he tripped over a huge beached log, his shoes flying from his hands. 

"Uuugh…" He groaned as Ray and Max ran up the where he was. 

"Hey you okay, buddy?" Max questioned the baseball-capped blader on the ground. 

Tyson grinned at his friend and sat up, brushing sand off of his jacket. The midnight haired blader saw where they were and smiled widely. "Ooh yeah, I'm perfect." 

"What's this?" Ray looked around and saw a few more large logs positioned in a circle around a small bunch of rocks and burnt sticks. "A campfire?" 

"Pretty good huh?" Tyson said smugly. "Kenny and I set it up a looong time ago and nobody's moved it yet." The former world champ stood up and dusted off his pants. 

"Needs some more wood." Ray observed and then spotted a pile of sticks and driftwood near the grass line. The Chinese blader jogged over to collect it. 

"So you come to the beach often, Tyson??" Max asked as he plopped down on a log. 

"Sometimes." Tyson replied gently, and then fished a matchbox out of his back pocket, kneeling down as Ray stacked the wood into position. "All right!! Let's light this thing!" He grinned. 

A good-sized fire was soon burning brightly on the near-deserted beach, where only three of the old Bladebreakers were sitting comfortably. The former team captain hadn't gone to join them, preferring to rest by the shoreline for the time being. The firelight painted the sand around it in warm colours and the moon had rose a little higher when a familiar voice shouted out. 

"TYSON!!" 

The young fiancé in question, as well as Max and Ray, turned to see Kenny making his way over, haphazardly carrying a few things. 

"Chief!! I didn't think you'd make it!" Tyson exclaimed cheerfully. 

"C'mon over here Chief!" Ray called out as well waving his hand. 

"Hwuaaah…" The bespectacled genius wheezed as he set down a parcel and his computer bag on the sand. "I forgot how far along on the beach this spot is!" 

"You're just getting old from sitting around in that lab all day!" Tyson joked, rubbing his nose and looking slyly at the master Beyblade engineer. "Need us to oil your joints old timer??" 

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny Tyson! Oh, my mom sends a gift, by the way." Kenny said wryly while adjusting his glasses. He pushed the parcel he had been carrying with him to Max and took a seat next to the blond. 

The coach of the PPA team opened it up eagerly. "Hotdogs! Aw, your mom is a saint, Chief!" Max said happily as he dug out the other supplies to cook some dinner. 

"Food!" Tyson perked up. "I take it back Kenny, you got here right on time! We didn't have anything yet!" 

At Kenny's incredulous look, Ray spoke up. "I guess we all got caught up in a few things today." 

The Chief nodded in understanding and then glanced around. "Did Kai come with you guys?" 

"Yeah," Tyson answered before the others got a chance to. "I'll go find him." The midnight haired man quickly shrugged off his jacket and rolled up his pant legs, standing up and trekking across the beach to find the Bladebreaker's former team captain. 

Kenny watched his oldest friend go off and then turned back to Ray and Max who had started cooking the food. "The more things change, the more they stay the same." The Chief said thoughtfully. "So do you guys know why Kai's distancing himself _now_?" 

Max raised his eyebrows openly and handed Kenny a hotdog bun. "Oh, just the same old reasons, I think." 

* * *

He was lying on the beach where he found him. It hadn't been hard – Tyson knew this place inside and out, and Kai wasn't exactly hiding. The now young adult had taken off his blazer and lay with his arms folded behind his head, staring up into the dark blanket of sky above him. 

"Hey," Tyson spoke softly in greeting down at Kai as his bare feet carried him to stand near the other man. The former world champion looked out across the ocean and then followed the owner of Biovolt's gaze up, to the sky. He smiled gently at the sight. _When did I ever think I would get the chance to see Kai **relaxing** for once… and stargazing? It doesn't seem like very long that we were all apart but I guess time just flew by. We haven't fought or anything like that since he came back… I guess some good came out of it. _Tyson thought to himself in a rare moment of wistfulness. The stars were very bright and the pony-tailed man tilted his head to get a better look. "Great night, huh Kai?" 

Slowly Kai shifted and propped himself up on his elbows and into a sitting position, his eyes trained on the waves wetting the beach just a metre away. "Better than most." Kai answered. 

Tyson's smile widened and he gazed down at his former team captain again, one hand reaching up to fix his hat before putting his hands on his hips. Kai looked over at him and their eyes met. 

_He probably came to get me for some beach party they're starting._ Kai assumed correctly, breaking eye contact with the reason for many changes in his life. The owner of Biovolt then picked himself up and retrieved his blazer from where he had draped it on the ground. 

Tyson hummed amiably as Kai dusted the sand from his clothing and turned to regard the water of the bay before them. The moonlight shone off of the waves invitingly and Tyson took long steps to the edge of the water then waited the second on the wet sand before the tide came in and water surrounded his bare feet. "Brr!! Cold!!" Tyson exclaimed, shivering and hopping from foot to foot a bit comically as the cool temperature assaulted him. 

"Tyson," Kai stated, throwing his jacket over his shoulder with a small smile at the younger blader's antics. "You should know better than to play around." The dual-haired blader's expression then transformed into something unknown as he watched the other turn around, his face cast into shadow by the moon. "You'll get sick." 

"Nah, don't worry 'bout me, Kai!" Tyson laughed and kicked some of the spray from the water at Kai trying to splash him. He missed though, and when Tyson groaned Kai's smile returned somewhat muted. 

"We've got dinner cooking down the beach!" Tyson pointed to a point of firelight a ways away from where they stood. "And I'm starving already, so c'mon Kai, let's go!" 

"Start walking." Kai replied. 

Tyson was unusually quiet as they made the simple walk back. From the corner of his eye Kai could see that the shorter man wore a content look, but his attention was elsewhere. He was staring off into space, not noticing where he was stepping. The shorter man's sand covered foot caught on a piece of driftwood and he abruptly tripped up. 

"What the-!" Tyson squawked, quickly righting himself and trying to look unembarrassed at acting spacey. 

"Clumsy." Kai said amusedly. _Not as bad as me, though. I fell for you so hard… and I still haven't recovered. _The owner of Biovolt's good humour died down soon after that thought – he knew that nothing would ever come of his feelings. 

"Heh… Oh be quiet, Kai! Haha…" Tyson chuckled and ran a hand through his bangs, grinning at the taller blader with a sweatdrop. 

Kai stared at Tyson before turning away. "Come on," He said evenly. "Your food awaits you, Tyson." 

"Kai." Tyson reached out and touched the former team captain's arm. 

"What is it?" Kai asked while looking to the campfire not too far a distance away, trying not the get caught up in his hope for the impossible. 

Tyson's blue eyes scanned Kai's profile and took a deep breath through his nose. _This… is a lot harder than I thought it would be…_ Tyson thought absent-mindedly as his gaze roamed the other young adult's face and body. _How do you tell somebody that you used to…_The midnight haired fiancé shook his head slightly and blew out the breath he had been holding. 

"Kai, I've been wanting to tell you something… for a long time now." Tyson said as steadily as he could. 

The owner of Biovolt's head turned around to look at him questioningly. 

"But I'm… I don't know how you're gonna take it." Tyson continued, for the first time in so very long, his entire vision was comprised of Kai's dark eyes. 

"Whatever it is, just say it." Kai spoke lowly; wanting to know what Tyson had wanted to tell him for a while. 

Tyson opened his mouth to follow Kai's advice, but he the words didn't leave his lips and the baseball-capped fiancé relaxed when another voice cut in for him. 

"THERE you guys are!" Kenny sighed, relief on his features as he jogged over to them. "You guys didn't come back fast enough, the food's disappearing." The Chief explained the situation and then gestured for the two former Bladebreakers to hurry and follow back to fire, leaving the unfinished conversation for another place and another day. 

* * *

Tyson yawned as he descended the stairs to the first floor. He stretched and blinked his eyes blearily as he headed for the kitchen to have some breakfast. 

"I'm gonna eat a huge breakfast, and then everyone's gonna come over again to work on the dojo…" The world champion mumbled to himself, rubbing his eyes. He was fully dressed and ready for the day, but he was still tired from the last night the reunited Bladebreakers had spent at the bay. 

_I really did miss everybody, a lot._ He thought to himself. Yawning again, Tyson rummaged through the fridge and then the cupboards for something good. After looking once, though, he repeated the process and searched again. "Where _is_ everything??" Tyson wondered as he surveyed the practically bare shelves… and then his eyes narrowed. "Gramps!!" Tyson yelled, running through the house and sliding open the door to the dojo. "Where's all the…! W-Wha?" Tyson's eyes bugged out in shock at the sight before him. "What's going on!?" 

"Hey, Not-so-little-dude!! 'Bout time you got up and joined the hubbub!" Old Mr. Granger laughed heartily and waved his kendo sword. 

"Hi there Tyson! Whoo boy you've grown up." 

"So that's your grandson, eh Granger?" 

"All ready for your wedding?" 

Tyson's eyes were wide as he took in the sight of many middle-aged and old men, which he knew as long-time friends of his grandfather, working to clear out all the remaining junk and repairing the floor of the dojo. There was even someone just returning with paint for the walls when it came time to redo them. Everyone had stopped in their tasks momentarily to wave and say hello to the groom-to-be before continuing. 

"Wha… What's everyone doing??" Tyson blurted out. Old Mr. Granger came up and slapped his grandson on the back. 

"What're you going on about T-man?" Gramps said, giving him a sly grin and gesturing to the work being done. "Don't tell me you're losin' your sight! These here fellows agreed ta pitch in and get the dojo lookin' snazzy in record time!" 

Tyson stared at his grandpa with wide eyes before breaking into an uneasy smile. "Geeze Gramps, why would you decide to help out like this all of a sudden??" Tyson inquired while giving his old man a glare. 

"Ahahahah! You'll see soon T, you'll see soon." Grandpa winked and put an arm around his grandson's shouldered, guiding him back to the kitchen. "Now howabout we grab us some eats before your friends get here?" 

"There's nothing _in_ the kitchen." Tyson grumbled, but allowed himself to be steered, giving one last glance to the quickly readying dojo behind them. 

* * *

When the Bladebreakers arrived at the Granger household and dojo, they were surprised to be ushered in by a portly woman who then herded them into the kitchen where a jovial Grandpa Granger and Tyson sat at the table. 

"Hey there homeboys! Sit! Sit!!" Gramps insisted, jumping up so that Ray, Max, Kenny and Kai could take seats. 

"Now all you newcomers're probably rackin' your noggins at who this fine lady is." Mr. Granger announced, gesturing to the woman who was smiling at them all by his side. 

"Is that your girlfriend then, Gramps?" Max grinned and Tyson had to slap a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing, his face turning red. Kenny groaned and opened his high tech laptop, turning his attention away from them. The Chief and Tyson already knew her, after all. 

"Hah Hah!!!" Gramps chuckled and preened his moustache, while the aged woman rolled her eyes. 

"No, hello my dears," The friendly woman smiled at the Bladebreakers. "I'm Naomi's mother, it's good to meet you all, finally." She nodded to Kenny. "And to see you again too, Kenny." 

"Oh! Hey, nice to meet you Mrs. Walker!" Max smiled at her. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Ray said too, and took Mrs. Walker's hand in greeting then sat back down with the rest of the group. "By the way where _is_ Naomi?" The Chinese blader asked, looking around for any sign of the bride-to-be as her mother took a seat next to Tyson's grandpa. 

"Downtown." Kenny answered casually. "She's coming back for dinner though." 

"All right, all right!" Tyson suddenly spoke up, slapping a hand down on the kitchen table, making everybody focus on the fiancé. "We're all here so what's this thing you were being mysterious about?" The world champion continued loudly, staring down his grandfather. 

"Well, little dude, you're in for good news!! Wedding bliss is comin' up to bat and you're pitchin' a million!!" Mr. Granger exclaimed. "You see what I'm sayin'!?" 

Kai's eyes opened and his eyebrows furrowed at the old man's words. 

"Whaddyou mean, Gramps?" Tyson asked, his eyes wide and momentarily perplexed as to what he was being told. 

"With some luck, the wedding is going to be moved up a few weeks!" Mrs. Walker explained, a small smile on her aging face. 

Tyson's eyebrows rose above his hairline. "No way!" 

Kai's heart froze. The owner of Biovolt's lips parted and he didn't hear the words even as he said them. "You can't." Kai's voice cut through the room as much as if it had been shouted. 

Ray's head whipped around to stare at Kai. The two old adults and Kenny looked over to the dual-haired young man as well. 

"Kai's right," Max interrupted, before anyone could question the oldest blader. "You know I booked a nice place for the bachelor party a while ago, but the time was for two weeks before the real date!" 

"No worries Max my man, I've got the skinny on a new happenin' place for the little man and you all to hang out before he ties the knot!!" The old man belted out, and held up a piece of paper. "Here's the lowdown on the gig!" 

"Lemme see that!" Tyson snagged the paper from old Mr. Granger and quickly read it over. The young man's eyes suddenly bugged out and he looked up wildly. "CoCo's Dance Lounge?!" 

"Mmhmm." Gramps nodded sagely. "That there's one fine establishment T-man!" 

"Ahhh, it sounds a little wild…" The Chief hesitated and pulled at his collar. 

"I dunno it sounds kind of fun." Ray remarked thoughtfully. 

Tyson rolled his eyes and looked over at Max. "Where did _you_ book us, buddy?" 

The blond smiled sheepishly. "Uh…the same place." 

"So it's settled then." Naomi's mother said happily. "The wedding will be two weeks from today!" 

"Then _we've_ still got a lotta work to do." Tyson agreed. The midnight haired blader then turned dark blue eyes on the quiet figure of Kai. "Don't we, best man?" 

Kai gave Tyson a half smile for a brief second. "We always do." 

* * *

A week had passed since that morning, and the Bladebreakers had all done what they could to finish the wedding preparations. There were still a few things left to do, like the attire, which apparently the bride's mother would be sewing. It was when the whole group was practising the set up of the dojo that Grandpa Granger got a great idea. 

"All right dawgs!! WEDDING REHEARSAL!" 

"Already??!" Tyson and everyone else save Kai and Naomi shouted. 

"Trust me Little Dude, you'll need the practise!" Gramps told them. 

Naomi shook her head. "I'm sorry Grandpa, but the clothes we're supposed to wear aren't finished yet." She said gently, trying to calm the two family members down. "How will we practise just now?" 

"That ain't no sweat little sister, just play the cards like ya got 'em." Mr. Granger nodded to what the girl was already wearing. 

"Um, well, I guess I could put on a nicer dress…" Naomi offered. Tyson put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him. 

"You don't have to do all that, Gramps is just going crazy." Tyson told his fiancée. 

"It's okay, Tyson. It's fine with me, what will you wear?" Naomi smiled, amused at Tyson's perturbed expression. 

"Go put a suit or something on, T-man!" Gramps shouted and then exited the dojo to continue with his own part, followed by a reluctant Naomi. 

"A suit?!" Tyson said the word like it offended him. The baseball-capped blader sighed loudly and trudged over to the others. "A suit… aw man, any of you guys feel like helping your old friend out?" 

"What, you mean with getting _dressed_?" Max asked incredulously. 

"Come on Tyson, don't act like you've never put one on before." Ray added. 

"I _have_! But, that was a long time ago, and – c'mon just help me!!" Tyson complained, clutching his hat protectively. 

"Not me, I'm busy with the music!" Max replied holding up a couple of CD's and nodding at the temporary boom box they were using today. 

Tyson looked to Ray and the Chinese man shook his head. "I'm helping Max." 

"What!" Tyson fumed and then looked at the Chief. 

Kenny's perpetual typing suddenly stopped and the bespectacled young man clicked on a file folder pulling up a document on weddings. "As the groom's right hand man, the best man assists the groom in choosing his wedding outfit and may be responsible for obtaining quotes from tailors or hire firms." The Chief read off of the screen. 

"He can dress himself." Kai said swiftly, crossing his arms and leaned against the dojo wall. 

"Come on Kai, you're my man, and best men do the stuff Kenny just said!" Tyson grinned widely and grabbed at Kai's arm pulling him from his position. 

"Tyson!" Kai objected, a red colour spreading over his face – in anger or embarrassment Tyson didn't know – but the shorter blader felt his heart lighten anyway as he weaved through from the dojo to the hallway, Kai's hand in his grasp. 

Tyson smiled. "This way!" 

* * *

"OK Kai, you can come in now." Tyson's voice sounded through the closed door to his bedroom. 

The owner of Biovolt let out a breath and opened his eyes. He had been leaning against the wall beside Tyson's door trying to make his heart work again. The wedding was soon approaching, and every second that passed by was time lost and wasted as he watched Tyson's new life being built and formed into something that would never have room for him, as the dojo became a makeshift wedding hall. 

With every touch and every look that passed between them, Kai had tried to take the opportunity to let what he felt show. To say what he felt. But it was still never the right moment, and he could still never find the right words. 

_One day…_Kai thought to himself as he reached out for the doorknob and stepped into Tyson's room since childhood, closing the door behind him. 

The fiancé looked up from fiddling with his cuffs to smile at Kai in relief. "Okay, see, this is the problem, Kai, I always get the tie wrong..." Tyson held up the fabric for his former team captain to see. 

"It takes practice, but any idiot could do it." Kai snorted as he took the tie from Tyson's hand. 

"Hey!" Tyson shouted in defense although he didn't feel insulted. Instead he stepped closer to Kai. The taller man tensed up and looked into the shorter one's blue eyes. Tyson had taken off his hat for once and his long bangs were messy and falling softly into his face. 

"You might as well fix the tie for me then, Kai. Gramps was yelling to be quick about it." Tyson stated with a cheesy grin. 

_Only you could look gorgeous with expressions like that…_ Kai thought, his heart beating madly and butterflies fluttering through his stomach… and then in his hands as he reached up, his arms encircling as he draped the tie around Tyson's neck. The former world champion closed his eyes and held still letting Kai fix everything. 

Kai's hands were shaking faintly, his forearms resting on Tyson's shoulders, as he carefully tugged Tyson's ponytail over the tie, his fingers sliding through those dark strands that he had seen in his dreams for so long. The former team captain swallowed painfully as he smoothed the collar of the other blader's white dress shirt up, his fingertips brushing the skin of Tyson's tanned neck. Kai's vision became blurry at the sides of his eyes as he pulled the tie to the proper lengths, and then flipped Tyson's collar down, pausing to straighten it. Almost subconsciously, his hands ran through the motions of making the knot, and he slid it up finishing the job. Kai lightly pressed his hand flat against Tyson's soft chest, before he pulled it away in a fleeting instant. 

Tyson waited a moment before opening his eyes and looking up at Kai, a lock of midnight coloured hair falling into his eyes. Wordlessly, his eyes searching Tyson's, Kai brought his hand up and tucked some of those bangs behind Tyson's ear. 

The fiancé sucked in a breath and felt something warm fill his body that hadn't for a very long time. He leaned up and fixed some of Kai's bangs in return before looking into those dark auburn eyes. 

"Finished?" Tyson asked, his voice low in the quiet room. 

Kai didn't answer, but brought his hands up again to fix an imaginary wrinkle in Tyson's collar, his arms once again resting on his shoulders. 

Tyson laid his hands slightly on Kai's sides, holding the taller blader in place. 

Kai felt the subtle pressure of Tyson's touch and leaned in closer, his hands on the shorter young man's collar flattening to the nape of his neck. "You look good." Kai said quietly. 

"…I…Kai…" Tyson started but trailed off, his eyes becoming half-lidded when their noses brushed. 

"…I…" Kai breathed. 

From downstairs the slow song that had been playing abruptly changed to a fast beat one and then Tyson looked down, his eyes wide as he dropped his hands from Kai's sides. Kai slowly slid his arms from around Tyson's neck. 

"So…finished?" Tyson questioned casually, eyes on the door as he smoothed down his tie. 

"…Finished." Kai answered, crossing his arms and focusing on something in the room. 

"Thanks." The fiancé smiled quickly at Kai, before making for the door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway. "Heh, Grandpa's probably blown a gasket…" Tyson grimaced then grinned. "Let's hurry!" He declared before rushing off for himself. 

Kai gazed at the framed photo on Tyson's dresser a moment longer and then slowly turned and exited the bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him. 

* * *

End Chapter. Liked it? Didn't like it? Want me to continue? Review please!


	10. Someone Borrowed

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade and I'm not making any money on this story… 

Author's Notes: This fic is gonna end soon. I'd like to thank everybody for stickin' with me through this fanfic. And for liking it even with Naomi's character. The 1 year anniversary will be August 27th.

* * *

**Impossible**

* * *

The days and nights slipped by so quickly, and when the night of the bachelor party came, the Chief had taken time off from the University to pick the Bladebreakers up from where they were staying, and then drive to the place where the party would be held.

The car swerved around, pulling into a stop in front of the Granger dojo when the sky was already dark. Kenny stopped gripping the steering wheel and turned to the back seat. "We made it!" The Chief declared, absentmindedly mopping some sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Max and Ray were sweating as well with slightly afraid looks on their faces. "Um, Chief, maybe I should drive on the way out?" The Chinese man suggested, unbuckling his seatbelt with caution.

"He's a maniac!" Max muttered under his breath, following suit.

The Chief adjusted his large glasses as he thought it over. "Ahh, well if you really want to…"

"Oh he's sure!" Max spoke up. Ray nodded, trying to relax from the terrible driving they had all just gone through.

Kai, who was sitting in the front seat of the old car, reached over and turned the key, shutting the vehicle off.

"Oh alright then," Kenny exclaimed and then glanced at the dashboard clock. "You guys better hurry up and get him; we're supposed to be at the lounge soon!!"

The three former teammates got out of the car and walked up the path to the Granger's door. Ray pressed the doorbell, and they waited on the doorstep. Kai looked down, closing his eyes.

_The next time, that Tyson opens this door for me, _The former team captain thought._ It will be years from now. He will be older. He will have children._ Kai opened his eyes and turned, leaning back against the doorframe, away from Max and Ray, his arms folded. He looked at the midnight blue sky, the thoughts from before returning. _He won't recognize me, and I won't tell him who I am…_

The door beside him finally opened and Tyson's voice reached his ears.

"Hey guys, just let me get my shoes on…"

"Oh man, Tyson… The Chief's driving is a nightmare!" Ray laughed as he and Max entered the foyer of the home.

Tyson blinked dubiously. "What're you _talking_ about, Ray?" The fiancé questioned, and then grinned. "I taught him myself."

"You're joking…" Ray started and then stopped as Naomi walked into view. "Evening, Naomi." The Chinese blader said politely.

"Evening." She replied walking up to them as Tyson slipped on some sneakers. She looked at her fiancé in question.

"Bachelor party." Tyson told her, smiling and he pulled the velcro on his shoes tighter.

"Yep. Just gotta borrow him for the night." Max said smiling. The blond then glanced at Kai outside, leaning against the doorframe looking out to the night. Max's smile dimmed somewhat before looking back at Naomi. "Don't worry you'll be getting him back for tomorrow."

"Heeey." Tyson mock glared at his friend. "Joker." The baseball capped young man shot, rolling his eyes as he slipped on his red jacket.

Naomi smiled slightly, looking down, her hands clasped in front of her. She had not missed the look. They had been happening more and more, she noticed. And no matter how much Kai seemed to be unaware, she knew he saw them too. She knew that he-

"You'll be okay until we get back, right?" Tyson questioned, concerned, cutting into her thoughts and looking at her... Like she was a friend. Like she was a sister… He grinned at her and tilted his head to the side. "Knowing _these_ guys, it might be a while."

Naomi nodded, the smile becoming more apparent on her features. "Don't worry. There's plenty of time."

"Okay, let's groove before Kenny blows up, I think I can see him steaming from here!!" Tyson made a fist and grinned widely, stepping out the door with Max right behind him. He paused when he spotted Kai and almost reached out to tug him along, but Kai was not looking at him, and Max pushed his back.

"C'mon Tyson!" The blond laughed.

"Alright, alright!!"

Ray moved to follow them, momentarily glancing back between Naomi at the door and Kai, before exiting as well, for the car.

Kai's mouth was set into a thin line as he prepared to leave as well. "Oh um…Kai?" Naomi spoke up, getting the owner of Biovolt's attention. When they could see the other former Bladebreakers seated in the old car, Kai turned his head to face her, his dark eyes striking her own.

And she could see… pain…

"Could you…take care of him?" She asked. _Tonight…_ It was the silent word she thought, though she realized a moment later that it was not the right one. _Forever…_ She corrected, in her head.

Kai broke their gaze and turned away from her, pushing away from the doorframe and walking away from the house. She quickly moved to stand in the doorway, and her fianc's former team captain let his answer drift over his shoulder. "I will."

Naomi carefully shut the door behind him and then walked to one of the house's large windows. The dark-haired young woman watched as the car took off, the small smile from before returning.

Stepping away from the window she reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a letter. She had received it earlier in the day, yet had kept the news and her happiness to herself. Tomorrow, she would tell Tyson.

She knew now what she felt.

She knew now what she wanted.

* * *

"Aah we're here! I hope you guys are happy." Kenny grumbled a bit, his face becoming redder underneath his long bangs and glasses from where he sat in the backseat next to Tyson and Max.

"CoCo's Dance Lounge." Ray agreed, reading the name from the glowing neon lights of the establishment and pulling the car into a parking spot. The Bladebreakers got out of the vehicle and Tyson stretched before he planted his hands on his hips.

"So what's all this gonna be about?" The World Champion questioned as they walked to the entrance.

"Yes, _Max_?" Kenny asked.

"Er, I'm not too sure, they said it was meant to be a surprise mostly when I spoke to them. I have no idea what Gramps would've asked for…" The blond replied with a smile and then opened the door.

Tyson grinned. "We're doomed."

* * *

"Here you are, sir."

I take the glass from the bartender and say nothing.

Sitting at the bar in the main room I have bought a few expensive drinks, the taste of alcohol not so unfamiliar to me. I don't drink often, but it can offer a type of relief that is sometimes needed after a long day at the company. I'm alone here, the bartender the only one near, while other customers sit at tables with friends. You and the others were whisked away to enjoy some private dance show and I couldn't follow. To see some girls drape themselves around you would hurt me, I'm sure.

Hurt.

Huh.

I order a stronger drink for myself, now, passing my empty glass to the bartender.

Has it really been so long that I am able to admit that? There was a time when I would never allow myself to think it, let alone feel it. My grandfather's betrayal and how he used me in his ambitions, made me all too aware that hurt was something I did not want again, ever. The definition changed for me, then, and I refused to recognize the hurt of the heart within myself. It was not a part of my vocabulary.

I escaped it and made the very idea of being hurt emotionally take a backseat to everything and anything else. There was a point where I even forgot about the notion. A very low point, in my life. So deeply had I forgotten everything that I didn't realize when I was hurting someone else. Someone like you.

I had betrayed you, even _used_ you, and the others, in a reflection of what my grandfather had done to me. We were on the frozen lake in Russia and you had just defeated me with my own beyblade… the parody of something I longed to do to my own grandfather. It was when you kneeled down to reach out to me, to try and help me, that I first began to feel it once again.

I felt guilty, and sorry, because of what I shouldn't have done but I did anyway. Your words and your eyes in that dangerous moment made me feel countless things, and even when I couldn't admit it then, it hurt me to know that I had caused all of it, and that maybe if I had grabbed your hand in the very beginning of it all, I wouldn't have had to do it then. It was also the first time I felt that my heart would be damaged, if I could never see you again…

So I took your hand, but I think you took my heart, in the process. And you never gave it back.

But I think, I don't mind anymore. You can have my heart, Tyson, I don't want it… It was always better in your hands, anyway.

* * *

The bachelor party was in full swing in the private room grandpa Granger had booked. A group of girls were on a small stage singing songs while being scantily clad for the husband-to-be. Max and Ray seemed to be enjoying the show, and the Chief was downright infatuated by all of the dancers, but, Tyson… he was _bored_. He knew it was the last time he would be single, and he was supposed to be having fun, but, still, he couldn't help but think he would've rather beybladed all night long, than sit and watch these girls.

Tyson grinned wryly to himself. His gramps would go crazy if he knew that even ten years after becoming world champion of the game, that first time, he still longed to play the game. It had been ages since he had though. The reason for that always burned in his mind, even now…

"Hey, Kenny…" Tyson said in a loud whisper over the music, nudging his friend in the side with his elbow to get his attention.

"Aah…Huh?" The Chief answered distractedly, his eyes still on the dancers. Max was talking to a girl off by a wall and Ray was looking at a bottle of wine that he had ordered.

"I'll be back in a bit, tell me what I miss! Okay buddy?" Tyson told him.

The Chief waved his hand to ward Tyson's talking off from disturbing him, and the pony tailed man smiled widely, getting up and slipping out of the room.

* * *

The baseball capped man weaved through the crowd of people in the lounge as he entered the main area. His blue eyes scanned the large room before they finally rested on a familiar figure sitting at the bar. He made a beeline across the room for him, popping up on a stool beside the man in the business suit before he knew what had happened.

"Hey Kai!" Tyson said cheerfully, making the other man turn to look at him.

"Tyson." Kai finally acknowledged, before turning his attention back to his drink. "What are you out here for?"

"Oh you know how it is…" The former teammate grinned. "I kinda needed a drink." He explained and then ordered one from the bartender.

To himself, Kai wondered why Tyson would be sitting here when the party was not scheduled to finish for a while longer. But he did not push.

And so they sat together. Tyson talked to him about funny moments from the past, when they had been the Bladebreakers. "I _still_ can't believe you taught Antonio some moves to beat me!" Tyson's chatter had become more slurred as Kai listened. The owner of Biovolt raised his drink to his mouth as Tyson carried on the conversation.

"Did I ever tell you, how much I loved you?" The midnight haired young man asked. Kai stopped, his glass against his lips frozen, his eyes unseeing. A wide smile spread over his companion's face. "I guess not, huh." Tyson took another drink from his glass and grinned at Kai who had turned to look at him with piercing auburn eyes. "That'sa kinda a shame." Tyson slurred, and moved his hand to pat the owner of Biovolt on the cheek sloppily. "Great, you really look tonight, Kite!"

Kai gently took Tyson's hand and drew it away from his face. "What?"

"Kei." Tyson corrected, and then squinted his eyes in thought. "Whoa, I mean, Kai- _KAI_!!" The former world champ declared and raised his drink is salute, quickly sculling the alcohol back a moment later, the glass thudding against the bar top loudly.

Kai looked down to where he lightly clasped Tyson's hand in his own, away from view. He let it slip away slowly, trying to remember the way that tanned skin felt, forever. "You're _completely_ drunk." The owner of Biovolt observed, his voice even, as he drew his own drink up to finally finish it.

"Hm?" Tyson glanced at Kai and then abruptly stared at the ice in his glass. "Hey did you just say something, Dragoon!?"

Kai gave the other man a strange look, which Tyson countered by leaning his elbow on the bar and resting his head in his hand, staring back.

"How many did you give him?" The dual-haired man asked the bartender, his gaze never leaving Tyson's.

"Five. I suppose he can't handle his alcohol." The bartender answered, eyeing the drunken fiancé with humour.

When Tyson almost fell off the barstool, Kai's hand shot out and steadied him on reflex. _Never had anything to drink about, have you?_ Kai thought, glad of that fact. "Tyson. Can you see me?" The owner of Biovolt asked, making Tyson face him.

The baseball capped man stared at him for a moment before answering with a smile. "Yeah of course I can!" He chuckled. "I can see the three of you prefectly."

Kai twisted his mouth in a soft reprimand at that answer. "I'm taking you home."

The owner of Biovolt called for a taxicab to pick them up at the entrance of the lounge, not bothering to try and find the others as it had become increasingly crowded as the night went on. The car arrived and Kai helped Tyson into the backseat, giving the driver instructions on how to take them to the Granger's dojo.

It would be a long drive as the night traffic backed them up. Tyson began to look slightly ill. "I'm gonna be sick…" The fiancé groaned and then laughed slightly, leaning his forehead against the cool glass of the window.

Kai watched as the hotel he was staying at passed by in the window. Glancing at Tyson's woozy face, the owner of Biovolt pressed his lips together. "Take the next turn and drop us off at the hotel." He ordered.

_I won't bring you home to your fiancée like this._ Kai thought, keeping his gaze out the window, but still it strayed to the reflection of Tyson beside him.

* * *

Kai shifted Tyson's weight against him as he opened the door to his hotel room.

"Ugh…" Tyson complained, "I can wok on my own." He declared though he was still slumped heavily on his former team captain.

"Hm." The taller man replied. "You'll be sick." Kai said quietly as he closed the door behind them and helped Tyson to walk over to his hotel bed. Tyson stumbled once, his hat falling off. When Kai moved to sit the shorter man down on the bed, Tyson pulled him down as well and the dual-haired man lost some of his balance, falling into a half-sitting position on the matress.

"Heh," Tyson smiled, his arms wrapped loosely around Kai's waist. The former team captain felt his heart seize when Tyson pushed his face directly to Kai's, their noses almost touching. "Thanks." The world champion said quietly.

_It's an accident. He doesn't mean to… to…_ The thoughts fell away from Kai's grasp as the small distance between his face and Tyson's became all he could concentrate on. He was so close... so close that he could kiss him by accident if he moved… so close that he could feel the other man's breath brushing his lips.

He could smell the tint of alcohol in Tyson's system, and he forgot all about the wedding that was to take place…

_I could kiss him_. Kai thought. _Would he even realize it if I did?_

He wanted to do it. God how he wanted to do it… but he could not bring himself to, if Tyson did not want it. And of course he could not want it…

And he was so _drunk_, but…

_Just do it… You'll never get another chance._ Kai told himself and leaned closer to Tyson, their faces only millimetres away. Tyson was smiling woozily at him, and his blue eyes drooped shut.

_Just do it! You'll **never** get another chance! _Kai's breathing sped up, and his heart was hammering in his chest.

_JUST DO IT! _His mind shouted.

Kai was shaking as he angled his head, his eyes becoming half-lidded, he swallowed painfully against the lump in his throat, making it difficult to think.

_Forgive me…_He tried to say to Tyson, but his mouth would not work.

Kai squeezed his eyes shut, a stray tear leaking out and running down his cheek.

_I love you._

Kai closed the distance between them. His mouth pressed gently to Tyson's, and suddenly a decade of heartache was erased – and replaced – with a multitude of emotions all surging through him, alternating in their intensities, but at the same time, all taking control. He felt every day of love, every magnificent sunset and sunrise replaying once again, and still they did not measure up to the simple beauty of the brush of lips against lips.

How long had he thought of this, wished for this… _ached_ for this? How long had he dreamt of the feeling, the touch, of Tyson's lips on his? Just the singular idea of a kiss from Tyson had kept him warm in those years of longing, and through the loneliest of nights.

Tyson's mouth was slightly open, and he could taste spicy food of the bachelor party. His lips trembled with suppressed passion against Tyson's.

_So much…_

Kai's shaking hand lifted from the other's shoulder and tenderly caressed Tyson's soft cheek and hair. More tears slipped down his cheeks, and the former team captain pressed his lips more firmly to Tyson's, his nose touching that tanned cheek. The taste of the kiss turned salty and bitter sweet.

Tyson's eyes were squeezed shut, his breathing quickening as the slack arms around Kai's middle gradually wrapped around until his hands gripped at the expensive suit jacket. His mouth pushed back against Kai's, his lips parting more to give the other an open-mouthed kiss on his closed one. Kai froze for an instant, the feeling of exhilaration running through his body all the way to his fingertips. The former team captain exhaled slowly through his nose and then opened his mouth against Tyson's parted lips, breathing in his breath.

They stayed that way for a long moment. Kai's tears had stopped falling and his breaths were becoming more and more shaky as he trailed his other hand up from Tyson's shoulder to tentatively hold both of the longhaired blader's cheeks. He felt the shorter man's lips shift and, slowly, Kai opened his eyes to see Tyson's staring back. It felt like a dream as Kai pulled back until he could clearly see the other's expression. Tyson was smiling... The world champion's eyes were dark – from the intimacy or intoxication, Kai didn't know… or care… All that mattered was that Tyson was smiling… at him…

_Tyson… is it… impossible… _Kai thought hazily. _For you to feel this way too?_ How could he not feel it? Feel… everything… Kai himself was feeling… It was too _powerful_ for just one person to hold.

Tyson's smile softened for him, his eyes half-lidded locked onto him, and a single strand of midnight blue flying out of place.

Something tugged Kai's heart at that look and, stunned, Kai's eyes abruptly snapped fully open and he let go of Tyson's cheeks in a sudden haste. Tyson's arms slipped from around Kai's back, one hand planting itself heavily on the bed to keep himself from falling over.

"Uhg…" Tyson breathed as he caught himself and then raised his head to look at Kai blurrily. The drunk world champion raised an uncoordinated hand to put to his forehead.

_What have I done?_ The thought was quiet, almost detached, as Kai stared into Tyson's eyes. _He's getting married in a day… and he is not getting married to me… _But even as the thoughts passed through him, Kai could feel himself begin to burn, the kisses replaying themselves behind his eyes and on his lips. _Do you know what I've just done? Do you know what you do to **me**?_

"Aheh," Tyson gave the owner of Biovolt a grin, his hand still pressed to his forehead. "My-ah head reallaly hurts…" He slurred out.

The taller man watched him for a long time, his fingers gripping the fabric of his suit pants. "You're drunk." Kai finally said, the knowledge making him feel oddly calm as he looked at Tyson. His eyes showed what he felt. He couldn't hide it, now. It just wasn't possible.

"Heh..." Tyson grinned at him again and then all of a sudden pulled his hand away from his forehead and ran his fingers through Kai's light bangs, his hand moving to clutch the back of his dark cropped hair before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Kai's. Tyson's kiss lingered against Kai for a few seconds longer, before he let go, wrapping his arm around the taller man's back instead of in his hair.

Kai felt his cheeks flare with heat as if he was so young again, and his eyes were wide, searching Tyson's blue ones.

"Tyson-" The dual-haired man was cut short as Tyson put his finger to Kai's lips. The world champion then trailed his hands to Kai's shoulders and pushed. They fell back against the bed, bouncing slightly on the mattress. Kai stared up at the ceiling, his heart pounding as Tyson leaned over him, his long bangs hanging down and brushing his own.

"Kai…" Tyson whispered, lowering his face, his blue eyes eerily clear. "You always…"

Their noses brushed, and they were so _close_, they breathed each other's breaths, again…

Kai placed his hands on the small of Tyson's back, slowly sliding them up to hold him in place.

The former team captain felt more than saw Tyson's mouth quirk into a smile at the touch, and then the longhaired man leaned to whisper in Kai's ear.

"…remind me…" Tyson's voice was heavy and low making Kai's breathing quicken. "Uhg…" The world champion's head suddenly began to swim, he felt dizzy, his vision swayed and he passed out, falling on top of Kai.

The owner of Biovolt started as Tyson's full weight pressed onto him, and he stayed still for a moment. Realizing what had happened, Kai closed his eyes briefly and then gently rolled Tyson off of him, laying him on his side. The taller man looked down at Tyson's peaceful face, his hand lightly resting on Tyson's upper arm.

He… couldn't hide it any longer. Not after kissing him…taking advantage of him… Not when he would be married in only a day. He couldn't… _stay_ here any longer.

Leaning forward Kai rested his chin on Tyson's shoulder, his cheek brushing the other man's, and that long dark blue hair tickling his skin.

"Goodbye, Tyson…" Kai said quietly.

* * *

Light washed through the open curtains of the hotel room and spread over the furniture and floor. The room was bare, lacking any of the personal belongings that had been present there in the time it had been used. It was neat like it originally had been, hardly anything out of place, save for the bed. The blankets were wrapped around an unmoving sleeping figure.

Underneath the covers, Tyson's felt the early morning light hit his closed eyes, and he squeezed them tighter to try and block it out. He had woken up a while ago, his head aching, and he had stayed still in the warm bed waiting for it to pass. His memories from the previous night were hazy and he slowly realized that he didn't know where he was.

Tyson cracked his eyes open, squinting at the sunlight. "Uuh…" He groaned, closing them again.

The door to the hotel room swung open suddenly and a cleaning woman bustled in, going straight for the bed to retrieve the sheets for laundry.

"Uh…" Tyson groaned again, from underneath the sheets, causing the woman to jump back in fright.

"Oh my goodness!!"

"Huh?" Tyson blinked his eyes and slowly pulled the covers away from himself.

The startled woman calmed down and shook her head at the state of the fiancé. "Didn't you check out, Mr. Hiwatari?"

Tyson sat straight up at that, his eyes wide. He looked around and something strange settled in his heart when he realized it was a hotel room. Kai's hotel room. The pony-tailed man looked down at himself and he was still wearing his red jacket and shoes from the night before. Had he passed out?

"Wait…check out?" Tyson asked.

"Yes, all your belongings are gone! Except you." The woman replied and then began to straighten up the room.

_Gone…?_ The idea didn't seem real and the fiancé had trouble accepting it. _He just left?_ The room _was_ empty of anything that Kai might have had. Tyson watched numbly as the cleaning lady moved to take the waste paper basket. Inside were a few crunched pieces of paper and the former Bladebreaker impulsively spoke up. "Hey wait! Don't throw that out!"

The cleaning woman looked up in surprise, and Tyson slowly got out of the bed, his head swimming as he did, and fished the trash out of the basket. "I'll just…take this."

The woman nodded and set the trash bin back down. "I will come back later." She said giving him an odd look, and left the room, tagging the door to be cleaned later.

As soon as she had gone, Tyson slumped into the hotel desk chair and stared at the crumpled papers in his hands. _Do the others know Kai left?_ **_Why_**_ would he leave anyway…?_ Out of desperation for any kind of clue, the midnight haired man began to smooth them out and read the writing on them.

It was… Kai's best man speech… for his wedding…

Tyson flipped through the pages of Kai's speech, reading his former team captain's recount of when the Bladebreakers team had first been formed, descriptions of his funny outtakes and the fateful World Championship's. On the last page there was the beginning of more recent events, but then the young man paused when the words ended abruptly, leaving only a blank page the rest of the way.

He looked at the only remaining paper. Not much was written on it, and he wondered for a second if Kai had written it, because the writing wasn't neat like it had been before. Tyson picked the page up and began to read it.

_Tyson,_

_I love you._

Tyson stopped breathing. The young man's hands began to shake as his eyes focused on those words. He almost dropped the paper, and he felt his heart beat painfully at the simple writing which had just changed… everything…

Almost too shocked to read the rest, Tyson let out the breath he had been holding and forced himself to continue, somehow wondering if it would say it was a joke.

_I want you to know that. Even though, I think, you've always known. _

_Your wedding is soon, and it is wrong to let you know, but I'm writing you this because it needs to be said, and I can't say these things to your face. Even after all of these years._

_I love you. So much. _

In the back of his mind, Tyson understood why the writing was hardly recognizable as Kai's… the ink was smudged by water marks in places… places where… tears… had fallen…

_If you ask me._

_If you ask me what I feel. Ask me, if I'm in love you, I won't deny it… I can't deny you anything. ___

_Tyson, have happiness in everything that you do. Always._

_- Kai_

Tyson continued to stare at the words for a long, long time.

* * *

It was a few hours before sunset when the world champion walked through the gate to the Granger courtyard. Instead of going in the front entrance, he walked around, and into the dojo. It was setup, ready for the day tomorrow, and he slowly walked down the makeshift aisle until he reached the door leading to the house.

He opened it and stepped inside, it was quiet so his grandpa wasn't there right then… He walked through his home and opened the door to the kitchen.

"Tyson." Naomi exclaimed, looking up from where she sat at the table. A letter and documents were spread in front of her.

"I was uh…" Tyson started, running a hand through his messy bangs. "…at the beach." He finished.

"Oh." Naomi said, taking in Tyson's distracted features more intently. "I was hoping you'd be home earlier…" She spoke carefully. "Kenny, Max and Ray had called me. They asked me if you had come home." She paused. "They asked about Kai, too."

The baseball capped man slid into the kitchen chair at the sound of that name, and shook his head, his hand making a fist on the table. "He's gone…" Tyson responded, more to himself. "He left…"

Naomi watched him, her eyes slightly wide. "Who did, Tyson?"

"Kai." He replied, the simple name giving her not so simple answers.

The tension in her relaxed and she smiled softly. "He's so special to you, isn't he."

_Yeah…_ Tyson thought, not denying that, not wondering where the statement had come from. Kai had always been special to him. In both bad ways and good ways his former team captain had never stopped being the holder of a great deal of his heart and attentions. How could he ever begin to describe it to her? It wasn't just that Kai was special to him; it was a lot more than that. For a long while, Kai hadn't just been the memory of the Bladebreakers team captain – he'd been so many other things that Tyson could not name.

How could he even explain it to her? Explain how they'd parted 10 or more years ago… how he'd thought about him, almost every moment after then… how he'd thought of him so clearly, when they got engaged… How he felt when he'd opened the front door and he was standing there... How he… How he'd read Kai's letter meant for him, and thought of the letters that he had written just like it, for Kai, years and years ago…

How could he tell her that he'd wanted to _say_ those same words to Kai, only days earlier, just to let him know that he used to feel that way... To think he had almost done it, on the beach that night…

What could he say now?

"I… loved him." Tyson stated after a while. There were no other words for it. "Before I met you…" He searched for a better way to say it, but he couldn't find one. "I just…loved him." Tyson said simply.

Silence stretched between them for a long time, before Naomi looked up at her fiancé. "I know."

"You know?" Tyson blurted out in shock, despite himself.

"Yes, Tyson." Was the quiet reply. "And I know something else, too." She smiled slowly, and the young man across from her reeled back at the sparkling of unshed tears in her eyes. "You, still, love him." Naomi stated.

Tyson started, his mouth already working to deny it, even when his heart explained that it was true... "Naomi, I-I _don't_! I fo-"

"You _never_ forgot about him." Naomi interrupted with a small smile. She wiped her eyes, and they sat together in more silence until the light outside began to disappear and the room became dim. The silence wasn't an uncomfortable one – it was needed, as they both finally realized the truth.

"I'm glad you never forgot about him." Naomi spoke up, after a long time. Tyson looked at her in shock.

"There's something I've wanted to tell you." She looked at him. "Now you have something waiting for you, and I have something waiting for me, Tyson…"

"What do you mean?" The midnight haired man asked in confusion.

A brilliant smile lit her face as she couldn't hide it anymore. "I was accepted."

It took him a full second to realize what she was saying, but when he did his eyes widened and he laughed in elation. "The University?!"

She nodded, her smile becoming wise. "It would be difficult I think, to be married and in school."

It was their first talk of the marriage without her mother and his grandfather around, and they looked at each other, feeling free.

"Too difficult for me, anyway." Naomi continued with light humour.

"Naomi," Tyson's face adopted a thoughtful look and then it turned into a smile. "Can I still see you in your wedding dress? You'd look beautiful."

This time the dark-haired girl actually laughed out loud. "Oh Tyson," She grinned back at him. "I know."

"Is there anything you don't know?" Tyson joked, looking at her fondly.

"Actually… there is something I don't know." The dark haired girl replied mysteriously.

"What's that?" Tyson raised his eyebrows.

"Why you're still sitting here." She answered, with a slight smile.

Knowing she was talking about Kai, the world champion's expression turned more serious. "I…" Tyson started and then tried again. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be." She told him. Tyson looked like he wanted to say more, but Naomi continued, seeming to talk more to herself than him. "I remember…way back, when I was learning from your grandpa… you took me to your room and showed me that picture of all of you. The Bladebreakers…"

She was quiet for a moment before looking up at him. "Those were… the most _amazing_ stories, Tyson. I know… you still want to have more of those…" The dark haired young woman told him. "And I know, you still have one to finish."

She pulled the ring off her finger.

Naomi set the band carefully on the table and looked at her former fiancé with a small smile. "So go find him."

* * *

End Chapter. Good? Bad? Review please! 


	11. A Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters! I'm making no money off whatever I'm writing here.

Author's Notes: For Mioko, who is my real Naomi. Because I couldn't have ever written this story, or the romance between these two characters, without have known you. When we reunited that first time, I'm pretty sure, that was the inspiration for all my love stories and more. So, thanks…

* * *

**Impossible**

* * *

I remember when I first knew I loved Kai.

It was years ago in Moscow, Russia before the world tournament. Or… maybe it was sooner than that. I don't know, but every time I looked at him back then I knew I… _felt_ something. Yeah, I felt something that I was _certain_ I wasn't supposed to be feeling for our team captain. It was when he walked into the stadium, and DJ Jazzman announced that Kai would be playing for the Demolition Boys, that my heart started to realize what it was.

I didn't understand how Kai could desert us like that; I was desperate to know why. He brushed me off, like always, though. And then we found out about Black Dranzer. Kai, if I had known about your family and past at the abbey beforehand, I would've tried so much harder to find you when we noticed that you were gone. But we were just kids back then, and you could always take care of yourself…

Kai was gone for good. And I think I cried… because I had figured out what exactly I was feeling for him. I loved him. My love for all of them made me strong. But love and emotions made him weak, didn't they? That was why he left…

Before Kai, I had never had to try to make friends. I'm not bragging, for once heh, I'm just a friendly guy and it's easy for me, but this time… This time, here was someone who didn't seem to care about other people in the least! He was selfish… arrogant… stubborn… and cruel to his supposed fellow gang members. I don't know what I expected of a gang leader, but it sure wasn't what I saw in Kai.

What did I see in him?

I always stopped to ask myself that question – whenever he snubbed me, or one of the other guys, and when he cut us down by saying he didn't need our friendship, he didn't need us. And then I paused again, when sometimes, he actually gave good advice just when things were beginning to look a little rough. When he actually wanted to know me, and when he smiled at me…

Even with the way he treated us sometimes, even being a little intense and serious - well okay a _lot _- he was still a good person. Somewhere behind that wall of ice he kept around himself, there was someone I had grown to care about. I never thought it would happen, but there are some things you just can't go through with a person without developing new feelings and understandings for them…

I think there was some part of me that always knew he would end up being special to me.

It was in those small glimpses when Kai would open up, that I found that I could see my heart reflected back at me in those eyes… He held my heart captive in those moments…

What would he think if he knew that I, _Tyson_, had started to _love_ **him**? He wouldn't like it – no that's an understatement. He would avoid me, hate me even… and maybe leave because of it, because of me.

And for a long time, I thought that's what had happened. After the world championships, Ray going back to China, and Max going to America with his mom, Kai had stayed in Japan for a while, before he just… disappeared. Just like that, no goodbye or anything. He just…left. Maybe my feelings showed on my face and in my voice whenever we were together. Or when I'd put my hand on his shoulder, I'd always leave it there a little bit too long. Whatever it was, my emotions must have been as plain as day to him. I was never good at hiding what I felt…

But, it was hopeless.

I _knew_, with every fibre in my being, I _knew_ that it would be impossible for him to _ever_ return these feelings. What would it take, I asked myself, to make him love me? He could hardly stand to be around me… Still, even with knowing all of these things, I couldn't help but wish, and wonder, if there was just a little possibility, a tiny chance that Kai might actually be able to…

But, no.

So I got over him.

Well, I thought I did, at least.

He was in my system. I couldn't get rid of him even if I tried. And heh, most of the time, I didn't try…

So I stopped beyblading. I still did it from time to time, but how could I continue when all I saw was him, my eternal opponent in the beystadium – and out of it. Even when I wasn't with him I was fighting him, fighting his memory in my mind, and my feelings.

No one else could confuse me like him. With Kenny, Max and Ray I always knew where I stood with them. But Kai… Kai from all those years ago on that great beyblading adventure across the world… that Kai was so mysterious.

Would I ever be able to solve him?

Or maybe he wasn't a mystery at all… maybe he was a puzzle waiting to be put together by just the right person.

But it's not as simple as that, I guess. Every time we got so far in our friendship – every time I thought I had managed to complete the puzzle that was Kai, it felt as though a few pieces were missing. Maybe he had lost those parts of himself sometime ago, or someone had made him push them away… whatever it was, it took so long for him to find himself again… but I know that now he _has_ found what he's been looking for. I could see it when I watched him these past few weeks.

He may be so much closer to that perfection that he always wanted back then, but I can still see that he's still searching, although not as hard as before. Or, maybe he isn't searching – maybe he's already found it…

Maybe the last piece of the puzzle is in somebody else…

Maybe I want it to be in me.

It is in me.

And maybe… that's the reason why after so long, I still love you.

Sometimes I saw you when I looked at Naomi. What was that supposed to mean? I thought I was going crazy to see someone like you instead of the sweet girl Naomi is. But I noticed, she reminded me so much of you, and we could never talk about how we were meant to get married… Subconsciously, I think I was afraid… that she'd know how I felt about you the instant that I said your name, telling her about you… afraid, because maybe she _already_ knew…

And I guess that's why I'm doing this.

I made a promise to her, to find you.

And I always keep my promises.

I thought I had pushed all the memories out of my mind, but… I can't help but remember ten or more years before, and the promise that I had made to _myself_ creeps up again. I had made a vow that I would always be there for you, in any way you wanted, because you needed it, and I needed it a little bit too, I think.

So there's something I have to do now. Something I haven't done in almost ten years… something I should have done a lot sooner… I'm going to go after him. I'm not going to stop this time either, because, this time, I know that he wants me to be the person to complete him, too.

* * *

End Chapter. The next will be the finale. Review please! 


	12. Someone Who I Love

Disclaimer: Beyblade and all it's characters belong to Takao Aoki, D-Rights etc.

Author's Notes: It's done! My first ever BeyBlade fanfic! Much love goes with this ending for the eternal romance between Tyson and Kai.

* * *

**Impossible**

* * *

Saturday morning. The Granger's dojo. 

The training hall was beautifully set with chairs and ribbon for the wedding to take place that day. It was empty, and although that worried the Chief a bit as he walked through the large room to enter the household, he was more set on finding the two people set to be married.

The young scientist climbed the familiar stairs of the house until he reached Tyson's bedroom, hoping to find the former world champion. Entering the room the Chief found Grandpa who was sitting on his grandson's old bed, holding a picture frame in his hand.

"Oh Mr. Granger! Where's Tyson? It's time to start getting ready." Kenny questioned checking his wristwatch.

Tyson's grandpa didn't appear to have heard the beyblade genius, as he sat with his wooden practise sword eyeingthe item in his hand. "T-man…you old dog…" The old man said finally and shook his head, smiling behind his bushy moustache. He stood up, his joints creaking, before he walked over to the dresser, placing the picture frame down.

"Mr. Granger?" Kenny inquired.

"Shoulda known not ta stop da tide when it's flowin' high, Chief! Shoulda known." Tyson's grandpa explained wisely, and the younger man watched through his thick bangs as the old man ambled out of his grandson's room.

Kenny adjusted his glasses in wonder as he reached over and picked the picture frame up, setting it to stand again. Seeing the picture in the frame, the Chief understood what Tyson's grandfather had been saying.

"Oh Tyson." The Chief shook his head. "It's always been that way, hasn't it?" Kenny spoke to himself, taking in the photo of an aloof but relaxed Kai lying on the grass, unaware he had been photographed. The Chief smiled wryly. He would find Tyson a better photo soon.

* * *

"I think you knew this would happen." Max said, glancing over the wedding invitation in his hand and then back at Naomi. They sat on the stone wall along the beach, the sea gulls flying overhead.

"I guess I did, right from the beginning." Naomi replied quietly, breaking off a piece of bread to throw to the birds on the beach.

"I guess, I should tell you I think… it's the best thing that could have happened." Max said truthfully, haltingly, worried about what she might think.

"To be honest…" The girl smiled, carefully breaking off another piece of bread. "I feel that way too."

The blond stared at her for a moment and then smiled widely, shaking his head before laughing. "So are you going to tell your mother anytime soon?"

Naomi blinked and then picked up the wedding bouquet of white flowers that rested beside her on the stone wall. She threw it up and the wind scattered the petals everywhere. She turned to her friend and grinned. "Now that's impossible."

* * *

The Chinese blader finished walking up the steep dirt path which led to his home village. As he crested the hill his eyes widened at the sight of his very first teammates and family waiting for him.

"Ray!" Kevin called out, waving.

"Welcome home, Ray." Mariah greeted him warmly running up to him, clasping his hand in hers.

"It's good to be back." Ray smiled widely and looked at the rest of his friends.

"So how did the wedding go?" Lee asked his taller friend, Gary nodding as well.

"Hmm…" Ray smiled, enjoying the sunshine. "I've got a lot to tell you."

The former Bladebreaker laced his fingers with the girl's beside him and looked at Mariah softly. "And I think I've finally made my mind up about a few things as well."

Mariah's smile was dazzling as she tugged on his hand to follow them back into the village they had grown up in. "Come on and tell us all of it, nothing here has changed one bit."

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to, won't I?" Ray smiled and looked at the bright sky. _I hope you do what you always do Tyson. Save the day, always. _

* * *

Sitting in my office in the tall Biovolt building, a week has passed since I was in Bay City, your home town. I've left you again, even when I swore I wouldn't, I couldn't stay. You'll be angry with me again, this time I'm sure – I expect it, but I expect not to see you anymore, anyway. You would be disgusted; I'm certain, if you saw me and remembered how I… kissed you… while you weren't aware… You would be glad I left, maybe. All my life, with every mistake I made, it was you and the Bladebreakers that I could turn back to, and you would take me back, forgive me, smile at me… and make me fall so in love with you each time… But now I've made the most forbidden mistake, and I can't ever turn to you to take me back – I can't be a part of your life.

Going through the various folders of important work that needs to get done, I open one and begin to read it through carefully, but the words don't seem to stick. My secretary sets down the cup of tea on my desk and glancing at the amber liquid, it's close, but not quite, to the colour of your skin in the summertime…

You must be married by now. Married, and belonging to a completely different world than me.

And now more than ever I need to forget you, and your smile.

My secretary informs me that it's time for my next meeting. Has it been so long already? My briefcase is packed and I head off for a lunch meeting with an adoption agency Biovolt donates to.

When I step out of the car, my driver going to park, a young child wearing a backwards baseball hat runs by me and I watch as he runs, laughing, trying to catch up to his parents.

Something makes me watch the sight a little longer. And it all makes me think of you.

"It is difficult to find couples to take in a child these days." The representative tells me, making small talk. All the while I can only wonder if this is something I could do. You're married, and you'll have a family…

"But really, a good home is all that is needed for some of these children…" She continues.

"I am not married." I say finally, looking up and meeting the woman's aging eyes, then handing her the check. "Would that be a problem?"

"Oh-" The woman looked surprised at my question and sudden interest in doing more than just donating. "Well it is not a requirement to adopt…" She explained and then smiled. "You're still very young Mr. Hiwatari, having a wife and getting married does not have to be soon for you. It may happen in a few years."

I think of you and I know my reply. "It won't happen." I state, passing it off. How could it ever happen, when all I remember is you? Always, you…

"Well then, here is my practical card." She smiles.

I offer her a faint smile before accepting her card and gathering my things, preparing for the long ride home.

* * *

"It's that way Mr. Granger." An attendant points, showing me the way out.

"Thanks!" I smile and then head in that direction.

It's evening as I step out of the train station and onto the street. It's raining and I don't have an umbrella but bringing one wasn't high on my mind when I boarded the train to this district... I'm damp by the time I catch a taxi to take me to your home. It's been a long time since I've been in the business area of Japan. Who would have thought you would end up where you are? Who would have thought I would end up here to be with you…

And that is what I want. I want to be with you, when I see you; I'll finally tell you what I've always needed to say. I loved you… I still love you. It's always going to be that way. And now that I know it's not impossible for you to feel the same… I always want to stay with you – you're not going to leave me again and I'm not going to leave you… it will always be us.

We pull up to your home and I pay the fare before getting out of the car and into the falling rain. I walk up the long walkway leading to the main entrance of your home, a mansion, mindless of the water on my unprotected head. For once, I left that old baseball hat at home. Climbing the small case of steps to your front door I smile slightly, thinking of how maybe one day you'll be expecting me on these steps regularly… I finger the paper in my jacket pocket – the words you wrote down to tell me but threw away, never wanting me to find them. But I have, and I'm here, and it's only the both of us now.

In the end it was always us, wasn't it? It always came down to you and I and who would be the winner of whatever challenge we took on against each other. But winning and going against each other… those were never the real reasons for it. Even back then, it was always better when we were together.

I would spend forever together with you.

* * *

The doorbell sounded throughout the mansion and Kai rose from his study to answer it. The staff had retired for the night, and he could deal with the annoyance, if only for tonight.

Walking to the main foyer, he opened the door.

And Kai's heart stopped.

His hair was beaded with water, some strands plastered to his face, and his jacket was soaked through. He did not seem uncomfortable though, despite the continuous fall of the rain upon him and the doorstep. Deep blue eyes met his and his heartbeat was in rhythm again, faster than before.

Tyson smiled faintly and then shut his eyes as the rain started falling harder. The young man swallowed slightly and took a breath before looking back at Kai inside the doorway. "…Hey."

Kai's face was unmoving as he stood there saying nothing, but at the sound of that voice his stoic expression shifted and his fingers griped the doorknob tightly.

Tyson studied his face before giving his former team captain a tentative smile. "I found," Tyson said, looking down and digging around his red jacket pocket, before he drew out a crumpled piece of paper. "This." He held it up, the rain immediately pattering on the page, and raised his eyes to meet Kai's dark ones.

The midnight blue haired man smoothed the paper out carefully in his hands, trying to wipe away the water. "Someone forgot it in his hotel room." Tyson said steadily and then smiled, laughing a bit, his eyes never leaving Kai's. "I don't think he really wanted to be my best man."

Silence stretched between them and the raindrops before Kai's voice cut through it.

"He would be anything for you." Kai answered finally, his eyes locked with his former teammate's. "Except a stranger or an enemy." He added quietly, his hand on the doorknob falling back to his side.

Tyson stared at him, stunned. The former world champion's cheeks slowly began to burn and he hastily looked away, biting his lip. The rain had completely soaked through the letter in his hands, but he quickly folded it and replaced it in his pocket, gazing at his former team captain whose eyes were averted.

"Kai…ever since you came back into my life…" Tyson started, "I couldn't imagine living it again without you…" He told him, the truth striking Kai's unmoving form, making Tyson's expression turn earnest. "I couldn't imagine being… married, to someone else…" The shorter man's voice became intense. "…when there's only ever been one person I've always needed."

Kai's eyes snapped to stare at the drenched figure on his doorstep, his hands beginning to shake slightly. "Tyson wh-…" He tried, "What are you trying to say-"

"There's only ever been one person I've always loved." Tyson explained softly, his voice containing so much emotion. "Kai…Do you love me?" He asked, his dark blue eyes searching the taller man's.

And Kai couldn't deny it, not after so long and all that had happened. The truth was all he could give him now. "…Yes." The owner of Biovolt answered raggedly, staring painfully back into Tyson's searching gaze.

Would one word let Tyson understand all he felt for him? How could it even begin to describe all the emotion he had for this man in front of him, getting soaked in the rain on his doorstep? His chest felt constricted and it hurt to voice the impossible words that he had longed to speak, but there was nothing left for him to hide and there was nothing left to say, except this.

"I love you Tyson." Kai said. "I've always loved you."

Slowly, the younger man's features melted into a warm smile, the raindrops running from his long bangs in rivulets.

"Do you know how long I've loved _you, _Kai?" Tyson asked, his voice filled with fervour.

Kai's lips parted imperceptively, his eyes widening and his body rushing with feeling. Tyson's smile broadened into a grin, and tipping his head to look up at the slightly taller man, he answered Kai's unasked question. "Too long."

The rain began to beat down harder and Tyson shut his eyes, laughing a bit as his jacket was completely soaked through. "Heh…" Tyson opened one eye at the one he loved. Kai automatically jerked the door completely open and hesitated an instant before he laid a hand on Tyson's shoulder to draw him inside, his gaze locked with Tyson's own.

The door was shut and the two stood face to face in the foyer, close together, water dripping on to the floor from the midnight haired man's clothing. Tyson reached up to touch Kai but when his jacket left a large splotch of water upon the former team captain's white dress shirt the shorter man drew his hand away. "Sorry…" Tyson grimaced sheepishly, about to step away, when Kai caught Tyson's wet hand in his pale one.

"Don't apologize," Kai whispered, looking at Tyson longingly. He brought Tyson's hand back up to his cheek and moved closer to the former world champion. "You don't have to be sorry, for touching me."

"Kai…" Tyson implored, his hand on the other man's cheek drawing their faces closer together. Their eyes became half lidded and they were so close again, they breathed the same air and they only saw each other. "It's always been you." Tyson whispered back.

And then Tyson closed the distance between them and their lips touched into a kiss. His nose was pressed into Kai's cheek and his hand gripped the former team captain's back, the other one weaving into his dark cropped hair. Their bangs intermingled as Kai's hands tunnelled into Tyson's dishevelled hair, his clothes becoming soaked too, now, from the press of their bodies together. All their senses focused on the mutual kiss it had taken a decade for them to give.

And in that instant they forgot how to breathe. But it didn't matter, because in that moment they didn't need their own breath anymore. They were in each other's arms and there was no place they would both rather be.

* * *

5 years later. 

We're in Bay City, where the Beyblade regional championships were held today. It's a new building, one which Tyson helped to design with members of the BBA. The games have just ended and we're waiting in the locker room until we need to go.

Tyson's tanned hands are everywhere and mine aren't any better as we kiss the time away. An eternity of you like this was all I could have ever dreamed of, and you show me you feel the same by deepening our kiss.

"Eeeewww! Hahahahahahehehah!"

Laugher interrupts us and we pull a part in time to see a small blur of red and blue run from the doorway into the room.

"Can't catch me, can't catch me! I've got your beyblade!" A young mischievous voice yells, as the small boy waves the toy in the air.

"Get back here!!" Another young boy, taller than the first, shouts, chasing after the first.

"Markie!? Don't take his blade! Go!! Stop chasing him!" Tyson finally bursts, hurrying after the two kids.

I sigh at the scene, my eyes trained on the taller of the kids. After learning of my reputation as a beyblader and seeing pictures of myself from my youth, he has taken after me by dying his hair into two colours and wearing face paint. I tried to stop him from doing it but Tyson lets him, saying it proves he's really my kid despite being adopted… But it feels much more like he's _our_ kid.

"Markie give Go back his blade! And c'mon let's go!" Tyson exclaims while grabbing Markie by the scruff of his shirt and putting an arm around Go's shoulders, steering them both towards the exit.

"Hey Kai, I'll meet you there ok? Oh, and remember your tie!" Tyson calls back to me over his shoulder and then he's whisked away by the two kids on his arms.

Crossing my arms and leaning against the wall, I survey the room for their bags and jackets before going to retrieve them, fixing my tie on the way. Tyson's become too practised at undoing them, instead of the other way around.

I gather a multicoloured backpack into my arms, and as much as I don't like to admit it, the smaller one has a special place in me as well. He is Tyson's brother's son, who has spent most of his life living with his young uncle and myself after Tyson's older brother decided to teach beyblading all around the remote world – but Tyson treats him as if he were his own. He is both of ours.

They both remind me of the boy that once defeated me in that one fateful regional championship 15 or more years ago… and I am grateful, because I never want to forget it or the adventures Mr. Dickenson had planned for us afterwards.

We had found each other.

Was this where I saw myself ten years ago? I doubt it, but no one sees themselves as they will truly be, in the future.

But what ever future I see for myself, I know I won't mind it, as long as Tyson is by my side, and I'm at his, because in the end, it's all we'll need.

Now I'm walking down the familiar dirt path that leads to that same river that we always seem to return to. On the bank a beydish has been set up and I see the two children having a beybattle, Dragoon and Dranzer spinning and attacking in a reflection of the past.

I see you lying on the green grass and I make my way over to your spot, taking off my blazer and setting it down to sit upright on. I look down at you and you grin and give me that look you seem to reserve only for me in moments like these.

"Kai" You lilt, like you're thirteen again. "You're doing it again."

I raise an eyebrow slightly at your accusation and you roll your eyes back at me, that same boyish smile with you even after all these years.

"What am I doing?" I ask.

"You're reminding me again." You answer, slowing sitting up and resting your weight on your hands.

"Of what?" I question, more interested this time.

"Oh y'know," You shrug, "Just remembering the times we met here." Your midnight blue bangs fall into your eyes and you continue with another grin. "My tall, dark, handsome stranger – someone who I love."

The look in your eyes is all too familiar and mischievous, and I absently reach up and tuck a piece of hair behind your ear. The river shimmers from the beginning sunset and you slide your arm around my waist.

"Tyson," I start.

"Yeah Kai?" You answer, turning your head to look at me.

And I have to say it, even though it's not true, because you're Tyson, my Tyson, and you've proved yourself to be that one last chance when everything goes against this feeling…

I smile. "You're impossible."

And you laugh, and then you're leaning into me and you press your lips to mine. Our eyes close and beyond them the sky is red, but some of it is still blue. And later… we'll watch the sun go down.

* * *

The End. 

Special thanks to Glay and FireKali

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